John of the Cross and Carmel: Hermit and Mendicant

The aspects of St John’s life that we understand imperfectly include his reasons for becoming a Carmelite and his experience of the Carmelite calling. In these matters, our information is limited because John was - and remains - a hidden personality. The accounts of his life that have come down to us from his friends and contemporaries present him as reticent and withdrawn: a man of few words, who rarely spoke about himself. His writings, too, reveal little: they are often lyrical, sometimes intensely so, but they are never autobiographical. Only in his correspondence do we catch glimpses of his life, and then in passing: usually, his letters contain spiritual direction and are focused on the recipient’s needs. In this respect, he was different from Teresa of Avila, whose writings tell us much about the events of her life, both inner and outer. But although our information is limited, it allows us, I think, to say something about his Carmelite vocation: its beginnings in his youth, its development over time and its influence on his understanding of the Christian life, especially prayer.