Editing John of the Cross (section)

=== Joining the Reform of Teresa of Ávila ===
[[File:S. Juan de la Cruz y Santa Teresa.JPG|thumb|left|Statues representing John of the Cross and [[Teresa of Ávila]] in [[Beas de Segura]], Spain]]
John was [[Holy Orders|ordained]] as a priest in 1567. He subsequently considered joining the strict [[Carthusian]] Order, which appealed to him because of its practice of solitary and silent contemplation. His journey from Salamanca to [[Medina del Campo]], probably in September 1567, became pivotal.<ref>E. Allison Peers (1943, p. 16) suggests that the journey was to visit a nearby Carthusian monastery; Richard P. Hardy, ''The Life of St John of the Cross: Search for Nothing'' (London: DLT, 1982), p. 24, argues that the reason was for John to say his first mass</ref> In Medina he met the influential Carmelite nun [[Teresa of Ávila]]. She was in Medina to found the second of her new convents.<ref>E. Allison Peers, ''Spirit of Flame: A Study of St John of the Cross'' (London: SCM Press, 1943), p. 16</ref> She told him about her reform projects for the Order, which sought to restore the purity of the Carmelite Order by reverting to the observance of its "Primitive Rule" of 1209, which had been relaxed by [[Pope Eugene IV]] in 1432.

Under the Rule, much of the day and night was to be divided between the recitation of the [[Liturgy of the Hours]], study and devotional reading, the celebration of Mass, and periods of solitude. In the case of friars, time was to be spent evangelizing the population around the monastery.{{sfn|Tillyer|1984|p=8}} There was to be total [[abstinence]] from meat and a lengthy period of [[fasting]] from the [[Feast of the Cross#September 14|Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross]] (14 September) until Easter. There were to be long periods of silence, especially between [[Compline]] and [[Prime (liturgy)|Prime]]. Simpler, coarser, and shorter habits were to be adopted.{{sfn|Hardy|1982|p=27}} There was also an [[injunction]] against wearing covered shoes (also previously mitigated in 1432). That particular observance distinguished the "[[discalced]]", i.e., barefoot, followers of Teresa from traditional Carmelites, and they would be formally recognized as the separate Order of [[Discalced Carmelites]] in 1580.

Teresa asked John to delay his entry into the Carthusian order and to follow her. Having spent a final year studying in Salamanca, in August 1568 John traveled with Teresa from Medina to [[Valladolid]], where Teresa intended to found another convent. After a spell at Teresa's side in Valladolid, learning more about the new form of Carmelite life, John left Valladolid in October 1568 accompanied by Fray {{ill|Antonio de Jesús de Heredia|es|Antonio de Jesús (carmelita)|fr|Antoine de Heredia}}, intending to found a new monastery for Carmelite friars — the first to follow Teresa's principles. They were given the use of a derelict house at [[Duruelo]], which had been donated to Teresa. On 28 November 1568, the monastery was established,<ref>The monastery contained three men, according to E. Allison Peers (1943), p. 27; or five, according to Richard P. Hardy, ''The Life of St John of the Cross: Search for Nothing'' (London: DLT, 1982), p. 35.</ref> and on that same day, John changed his name to "John of the Cross."

Soon after, in June 1570, the friars moved to the nearby town of [[Mancera de Abajo]], midway between Ávila and Salamanca. John moved from the first community to set up a new community at [[Pastrana, Spain|Pastrana]] in October 1570, and then another community at [[Alcalá de Henares]], as a house for the academic training of the friars. In 1572 he arrived in Ávila, at Teresa's invitation. She had been appointed [[prior (ecclesiastical)|prioress]] of the Convent of the Incarnation there in 1571.<ref>The month generally given is May. [[Edgar Allison Peers]], ''Complete Works'' Vol. I (1943, xxvi), agreeing with [[Silverio of Saint Teresa|P. Silverio]], thinks it must have been substantially later than this, though certainly before 27 September.</ref> John became the [[spiritual director]] and [[confessor]] of Teresa and the other 130 nuns there, as well as for a wide range of laypeople in the city.<ref name="Kavanaugh" /> In 1574, John accompanied Teresa for the foundation of a new religious community in [[Segovia]], returning to Ávila after staying there a week. Aside from the one trip, John seems to have remained in Ávila between 1572 and 1577.{{sfn|Hardy|1982|p=56}}

[[File:John of the Cross crucifixion sketch.jpg|thumb|upright|Drawing of the crucifixion by John of the Cross]]
Some time between 1574 and 1577, while praying in a loft overlooking the sanctuary in the Monastery of the Incarnation in Ávila, John had a vision of [[Crucifixion of Jesus|the crucified Christ]], which led him to create his drawing of Christ "from above". In 1641, this drawing was placed in a small [[monstrance]] and kept in Ávila. This same drawing inspired the artist [[Salvador Dalí]]'s 1951 work ''[[Christ of Saint John of the Cross]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2017-09-22|title=Discover the crucifix drawn by St. John of the Cross after a mystical vision|url=https://aleteia.org/2017/09/22/discover-the-crucifix-drawn-by-saint-john-of-the-cross-after-a-mystical-vision/|access-date=2021-05-11|website=Aleteia — Catholic Spirituality, Lifestyle, World News, and Culture|language=en}}</ref>