Ascent of Mount Carmel by St. John of the Cross

Ascent of Mount Carmel by St. John of the Cross

The Ascent of Mount Carmel is a spiritual poetic treatise by the Spanish Catholic St. John of the Cross. The book looks at the ascetical life in pursuit of a mystical union with Christ.

The book gives advice through the author's own experience. The work is connected to another treatise on the Dark Night of the Soul, also by St. John of the Cross, that discusses how one's soul undergoes earthly and spiritual darkness in search of a union with God.

The works are regarded as some of the greatest writings in Christian mysticism.

The book was written in 1579 in Granada, Spain, after St. John escaped from prison. The Ascent is illustrated by a diagram of the process outlined in the text of the Soul's progress to the summit of the spiritual Mount Carmel where one encounters God. The work is divided into three parts and is laid out as a commentary on the poetic stanzas of the Dark Night. St. John displays how the soul tries to leave all worldly ties and lusts to achieve a "transformation in God".

This version is cross-linked with the World English Bible and has a text-to-speech option.