Doctor of the Church and Spiritual Revolutionary

Saint John of the Cross was a sixteenth-century mystic who taught that the goal of the spiritual life is union with God, and that the soul must be emptied of self in order to be filled with God.

He describes how, in the ascent to perfection, the soul passes through the mystical experiences of the dark night of the soul and the dark night of the Spirit in his works The Ascent of Mount Carmel, and The Dark Night.

The Living Flame of Love

The Living Flame of Love, also by Saint John of the Cross, is a powerful poem spoken by a rare spirit inwardly transformed by the fire of divine love.

Though only four stanzas, this sublime and compelling message illumines our passage through the labyrinth of personal karma and prepares us for the Divine Encounter.

The Living Flame of Love

1. Oh, living flame of love
That tenderly woundest my soul in its deepest centre,
Since thou art no longer oppressive, perfect me now if it be thy will,
Break the web of this sweet encounter.

2. Oh, sweet burn! Oh, delectable wound!
Oh, soft hand! Oh, delicate touch
That savours of eternal life and pays every debt!
In slaying, thou hast changed death into life.

3. Oh, lamps of fire,
In whose splendours the deep caverns of sense
Which were dark and blind with strange brightness
Give heat and light together to their Beloved!

4. How gently and lovingly thou awakenest in my bosom,
Where thou dwellest secretly and alone!
And in thy sweet breathing, full of blessing and glory,
How delicately thou inspirest my love!

Elizabeth Clare Prophet at Summit University

At Summit University, Elizabeth Clare Prophet presented an in-depth study of the Living Flame of Love and other selected works by Saint John of the Cross, including teachings on the soul's mystical experience in Christ through the initiation of the dark night leading to the alchemical marriage.

She explains that the dark night of the soul is the test of the soul’s encounter with the return of personal karma, which, if she has not kept her lamps (chakras) trimmed with Light, may eclipse the Light (Christ consciousness) of the soul and therefore its discipleship under the Son of God. It precedes the dark night of the Spirit, the supreme test of Christhood, when the soul is, as it were, cut off from the I AM Presence and must survive solely on the Light (Christ consciousness) garnered in the heart, while holding the balance for planetary karma.

Elizabeth Clare Prophet believes the essence of this poem is written in the heart of every child of God and is without parallel in Catholic literature.