SHORT WRITINGS

The writings by the mystic doctor are few and short. In numbers: a little more than a thousand pages in prose, and less than a thousand verses. The three poems he is known for go up to 264 verses.

ASCENT OF MOUNT CARMEL

It is a figurative title that indicates a double tonality in this work: the ascension to God, and the effort in the way up. The author outlined the Mount Carmen in a draft, showing the paths and the letters that lead to the summit. And he placed this draft at the beginning like an intuitive summary.

DARK NIGHT

We could say it is the second and complementary part of the Ascent. It comments on the two first stanzas of the poem Dark Night of the Soul, especially in the first one (“on a dark night”). The saint distributed this work following the order of the verses, which sometimes have ten or fifteen commentary pages with no other division.

SPIRITUAL CANTICLE (B)

In every verse he quotes on the poem that begins with “where have you hidden”, and that the author called The Bride’s Song. It was his favourite work —his most laborious creation and the one he loved the most.

THE LIVING FLAME OF LOVE (B)

SPIRITUAL CANTICLE (A)

Canciones entre el alma y el Esposo

THE LIVING FLAME OF LOVE (A)

COLLECTED LETTERS

The general title is actually the first verse of the poem. It points to the content and the movement of his work. The central subjects are the trinity dimension of mystic life, the qualified love, the actions of the Holy Spirit, and the principles of glorification. He intentionally digresses and comes back to some sentences from Dark Night.