Establishing an outline of a St John of the Cross pilgrimage, I have been detailing locales to visit, viewing the country of my mother’s upbringing. Of course, there is an underlying irony to seeking an earthly connection to the Saint of Nada. The subtly propels forward, illuminating the land of ancestors, pointing toward St Teresa of Avila, St Peter of Alcantara, Our Lady of Pilar, Monastery of Monteserrat, the original Our Lady of Guadalupe, and more, while pointing whole heartedly to God.

St John the Cross born in Fontiveros. Attended school in nearby Salamanca. First reformed Carmelite religious home Duruelo. Imprisoned in Toledo. Later years settling in Bielsa near the Pyrennes. He dies in Ubeda. His corpse resides in Segovia.

St John of the Cross poetry.

On the Communion of the Three Persons (from Romance on the Gospel)

Out of the vast love
Born of them both,
The Father spoke to the Son
With words of celebration,

With words of such full delight
That none can know;
Only the Son, only he took joy,
Since they were breathed in his ear alone.

But here is what
Can be understood:
–“Nothing, my Son, pleases me,
But your company.

“If something is sweet,
Through you alone do I taste it.
The more of you I see in its reflection,
The wider my smile;

“What is unlike you,
Has nothing of me.
In you alone is my delight,
Life of my life!

“You are the fire of my fire,
My knowing;
The form of my substance,
In you am I well pleased.

“Whoever gives his love to you, my Son,
To him I give myself,
And him I fill
With the love I feel for you
Just for making you beloved,
My Beloved.”