"Dark Night" affects us all at some point in our lives. The Star of David comes in our help to illuminate and reveal through the works of St. John of the Cross the meaning and purpose of such darkness. Using simple geometry we will travel across different phases of the spiritual journey to realize that suffering and pain is part of a deeper, natural purification process to strip the soul and transform the individual into his authentic "self". In this book we use very simple concepts and traces for those who want to revisit their faith through the works of the saint, but also for anyone interested in his own personal development as a good individual. If we learn to accept our suffering and darkness, not only we move forward in our spiritual path but also will dare to suffer for others and transcend our spiritual comfort.

The script and the scene.

The spiritual path, like any classical play, has several parts with a beginning, a development and the end. After some introductory chapters on the work, influences and historical context of the author (Chapters 1 to 3), we will raise the curtain in Chapter 4 where the lower triangle (our soul) appears as the Mount of the Ascent. In Chapter 5 we raise the curtain a little more to introduce the new actor, the upper Trinitarian triangle. The Spirit, vertex-arrow directed towards the center of man's soul will be the protagonist in next stage (Chapter 6). When the vertexes of both triangles (divine and human realities) contact, the dark passive night of senses begins, followed by the frightful passive night of spirit with the intersection and advance of the space invaded in a growing rhomboid area. To better ground our model we contrast it with what Fray John says about the soul as a vessel of infinite capacity (Chapter 7). The advance of the Spirit in different facets (dark light, touch and breath) widens the intersected area (Chapter 8). When the divinity completely permeates the soul, appropriating its substance and transforming it into a fusion of wills, both triangles form a Star of David (Chapter 9). This sketch of love symbolizes the spiritual betrothal. The geometry of intertwining realities becomes a hexagonal secret garden, where the wine of the wedding and the honey of the marriage will be tasted. It is the object of Chapter 10 where we conclude our spiritual journey with John of the Cross. Our model thus reproduces the saint's invitation to a theological life of growth of the virtues. If man perseveres emptying himself he will gradually permeate his life and will end up illuminating what was night, allowing him to discover a treasure in the depths of his soul

Of Stars and Souls: Spiritual Journey with Saint John of the Cross - häftad, Engelska, 2019