Review 2025.01.004
Reviewers Note: It is the beginning of 2025 and one of the skills I desire to grow in is that of writing book reviews (having never done this before). I am doing this so I can better hone my writing (and reading) skills as I seek to think more critically about the books I am reading. I am sharing on Goodreads for my own personal development. I know this will be something I am always growing in so if you actually read these, please be patient with me as I develop this skill. I will also receive constructive criticism if you desire to help me become a better writer (and reader). I plan to use this disclaimer for the entire 2025 year.
Ascent of Mount Carmel by Saint John of the Cross
429 Pages
I did a macro-reading of this book as my morning prayer book. I plan to micro-read it in the future. I know there was a lot that I missed in the first reading. This was not my first contemplative prayer book by Saint John of the Cross. I have also read Dark Night of the Soul. I probably should have read them in the opposite order but if my memory serves me, Dark Night was my first contemplative prayer book. At the time I read Dark Night, I had heard about Christian Mystics but had no idea what that really meant or the depth of the subject.
The Ascent of Mount Carmel is broken down into three books (sections) and each book is broken down further into chapters. The chapters in the first two books were generally consumable in small chunks of time as I typically spend 30 minutes reading my prayer book each morning. The chapters in the third book were significantly shorter which just meant I read more of those in a sitting.
I only had fourteen highlights but there was so much more in the book. When I read things like this, “Strive thus to desire to enter into complete detachment and emptiness and poverty, with respect to everything that is in the world, for Christ’s sake.”, I just did not have enough space to think upon it as I wanted with a macro-reading. Even with a desire to enter into complete detachment like this, how can we, apart from Father’s help. He must replace my fleshly desires with spiritual ones. I cannot do this.
Saint John is one of the classical mystics. The writing is not complicated but I can say the subject matter is deep. I would have struggled with parts of this book if I had not read other contemplative books – including Dark Night of the Soul, Interior Castle and The Way of Perfection both by Saint Teresa of Avila, and several books by Thomas Merton (who is more contemporary). I know I would have struggled because I did struggle with the first few books I read in this area. If you are interested in learning and growing in contemplative prayer then I would recommend starting with Thomas Merton (or some other contemporary).
If I am able to do a micro-reading in the future, I hope to add to this review. I can recommend the book to those interested in the topic. It does seem to be a niche area in the protestant community.