Living Flame of Love

2014 Reprint of 1962 Edition. Full facsimile of the original edition, not reproduced with Optical Recognition Software. In "Living Flame of Love" St. John of the Cross achieves the heights of his previous work and delves still further into the Divine mysteries of the soul's union with God. Because it was one of his last poems and the fruit of his more mature spirituality, "Living Flame" is written with greater eloquence and ardor than his earlier works and tells of a love more completely refined and of a soul which has experienced nearly perfect union with God. Written in four stanzas, with a commentary on each stanza, the poem begins by describing a soul which seeks a closer union with God. St. John then describes the journey. This is the standard translation by E. Allison Peers.