St John Of The Cross

John was born into a poor family, and he learned the importance of giving and sacrificing for other people from his mother and father. His father had given up many riches and importance from his family when he married John’s mother, who was poor and a weaver. When his father died and left his mother to care for John and his two brothers, she had to work hard to provide for her family. When John was only 14 years old he went to work at a hospital to help feed his family. These experiences taught John that even if this world only offers us suffering, Jesus always has joy and beauty to give us. His love for God called him to join the Carmelite order of priests; together with St. Teresa of Avila, he was called to bring the priests and sisters of this Order closer to Jesus. St. Teresa and St. John worked to bring prayers and order back to the Carmelite Order and many of the priests and sisters did not want this because they liked the easy life they had been living. John was treated badly for the work that he was trying to do, and even thrown into prison for 9 months. He managed to escape and continued with his work, starting a separate Order of Carmelites that was very strict and spent most of its time in prayer with Jesus. He wrote many amazing poems and books (some of them he wrote while he was in prison) and his writings are still read today. His writing has helped many people journey closer to Jesus, even through difficult times. He is called a Doctor of the Church because of the amazing teachings he left us.