San Juan de la Cruz, the great sixteenth-century Spanish mystic, is regarded by many as Spain's finest poet. Passionate, ecstatic, and spiritual, his poems are a blend of exquisite lyricism and profound mystical thought. In The Poems of St. John of the Cross John Frederick Nims presents his superlative translation of the complete poems, re-creating the religious fervor of St. John's art. This dual-language edition makes available the original Spanish from the Codex of Sanlúcon de Barrameda with facing English translations. The work concludes with two essays--a critique of the poetry and a short piece on the Spanish text that appears alongside the translation--as well as brief notes on the individual poems.

Christian perfection consists in the twofold way of charity: service of neighbor and our direct quest for God's love. Many of us discover ways to love our neighbor, but few achieve intimacy with God. Why? Because we don't know how to prepare ourselves properly to reach this exalted goal. In these pages, Father Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen lays out for us a time-tested path toward achieving complete intimacy with God, the path first mapped out centuries ago by the Church's acclaimed master of the contemplative life, St. John of the Cross (1542-1591). St. John showed that God hungers for union with each of us but also requires arduous efforts on our part, the many details of which Father Gabriel explains in these enlightening pages. Do you perceive holiness as an unattainable goal for you? Or is fear of the fatigue of such an effort holding you back? Absorb this book, and allow gentle St. John to take you by the hand and lead y

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St. John (San Juan de la Cruz) is one of the greatest mystics and poets in any language. This is a new introduction and translation of St. John'' poetry (presented in both Spanish and English) and prose commentaries that includes his biography, providing an integrated vision that resurrects the power of his poetic voice.