OCST13

Professor: Br. John-Mary Winter, OCD

Justification
All people are in need of spiritual healing. The wounds of personal sin and the sins of others have left humanity with symptoms such as self-hatred, anger, addiction, and despair. In his writing, St. John of the Cross expertly diagnoses this woundedness and offers a cure: union with God through contemplative prayer.

Goals
This course seeks to examine the teaching of St. John of the Cross on spiritual healing and contemplative prayer and to apply his insights to the contemporary discussions regarding healing ministry in the Church.

Content
The first part of this course will examine the topic of healing in the life of St. John of the Cross and as a general theme in his writing. Next, the course will look at how the human soul is wounded through the harms of the unpurified intellect, memory, and will. The third part will explore St. John’s teaching on contemplative prayer and how it brings about healing to the wounded soul.

Method
Zoom live sessions

Criteria for evaluation
One written paper (4-6 pages)

Time distribution
12 hours in class, personal readings, and preparation of the written paper

Essential bibliography

  • St. John of the Cross. The Collected Works of St. John of the Cross. Translated by Kieran Kavanaugh and Otilio Rodriguez. Washington, DC: ICS Publications, 1991.
  • Beranek, Iva. “St. John of the Cross – Hope for the Hopeless Places: Healing of Memories and the Places of Conflict.” Teresianum 70: 2019.
  • Bord, André. Mémoire et Espérance chez Jean de la Croix. Paris: Beauchesne, 1971.
  • Bushlack, Thomas J. “Shadows of Divine Virtue: St. John of the Cross, Implicit Memory, and the Transformation Theory of Infused Cardinal Virtues.” Theological Studies 81: 2020.
  • Chowning, Daniel. Healed by Love: Contemplation as a Process of Healing in the Works of San Juan de la Cruz. Salamanca: Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca, 1999.
  • FitzGerald, Constance. Desire, Darkness, and Hope: Theology in a Time of Impasse. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2021.
  • Payne, Steven. “The Doctrine of St. John of the Cross: The Structure of the Human Person.” In John of the Cross and the Cognitive Value of Mysticism. Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1990.