Poet and Contemplative

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“From the abundance of his spirit [the poet] pours out secrets and mysteries rather than rational explanation” (Prologue, The Spiritual Canticle).

“In contemplation God teaches the soul very quietly and secretly, without its knowing how, without the sound of words” (Chapter 39, The Spiritual Canticle).

In the spirit of St. John of the Cross, this blog reflects on the contemplative experience and the poetic experience, sometimes separately and distinctly, sometimes in common, as mutually enlightening.

I will also post to this blog, from time to time, my own poetry, with a short interpretive note attached.

~ Fr. Bonaventure Sauer, OCD

A First Serving (the poem The Dark Night)--Part Three

Sat, Apr 25 2015 | Permalink

In my previous post on the poem The Dark Night I recounted the simple story of a lovers tryst, told by the woman, which the poem narrates. But, in doing so, I omitted one key stanza, the central one, which lies at the heart of the poem, namely, stanza 5. It reads:Night that guided me,Night lovelier than the dawn,O Night that unitesThe lover and beloved,Beloved made one

A First Serving (the poem The Dark Night)--Part Two

Mon, Apr 6 2015 | Permalink

How does one express in poetry the experience of divine love? One can try to do so directly, by using direct statement, and writing explicitly religious verse. St. John of the Cross adopts this approach, and accomplishes it masterfully, in his poem The Living Flame of Love. But usually this approach—to capture

Discalced Carmelite Friars

Province of St. Therese

Poet and Contemplative

A First Serving (the poem The Dark Night)--Part Three

A First Serving (the poem The Dark Night)--Part Two