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inican dominic de guzmán franciscan francis of assisi anthony of padua bonaventure jacopone da todi angela of foligno english richard rolle walter hilton julian of norwich margery kempe flemish beatrice of nazareth lutgardis hadewijch john van ruysbroeck german meister eckhart johannes tauler henry suso female beatrice of nazareth bridget of sweden catherine of siena gertrude the great mechthild of magdeburg marguerite porete 15th 16th spanish ignatius of loyola francisco de osuna john of ávila teresa of ávila john of the cross others catherine of genoa 17th 18th french margaret mary alacoque pierre de bérulle jean jacques olier louis de montfort charles de condren john eudes john of st samson others mary of jesus of ágreda paul of the cross anne catherine emmerich veronica giuliani francis de sales 19th dina bélanger catherine labouré mélanie calvat maximin giraud bernadette soubirous conchita de armida luisa piccarreta mary of the divine heart thérèse of lisieux gemma galgani 20th padre pio therese neumann marthe robin alexandrina of balazar faustina kowalska sister lúcia of fátima edgar cayce simone weil alfred delp thomas merton charles de foucauld edvige carboni elena aiello edith stein contemporary papal views aspects of meditation orationis formas 1989 reflection on the new age 2003 literature and media lingua ignota ordo virtutum scivias ascent of mount carmel dark night of the soul spiritual canticle way of perfection book of the first monks the interior castle abbey of the holy ghost a dialogue of comfort against tribulation from willow creek to sacred heart the glories of mary the imitation of christ the ladder of divine ascent philokalia revelations of divine love the story of a soul theologia germanica devotio moderna fatima in lucia s own words calls from the message of fatima the miracle of our lady of fatima sol de fátima the cloud of unknowing on the consolation of philosophy the mirror of simple souls sister catherine treatise tractatus de purgatorio sancti patricii the vision of adamnán divine comedy inferno purgatorio paradiso fatima v t e john of st samson 1571 1636 also known as jean du moulin or jean de saint samson was a french carmelite friar and mystic of the catholic church he is known as the soul of the touraine reform of the carmelite order which stressed prayer silence and solitude john was blind from the age of three after contracting smallpox and receiving poor medical treatment for the disease he insisted very strongly on the mystical devotion of the carmelites he has been referred to as the french john of the cross by students of christian mysticism early life edit john moulin was born in 1571 in sens into a middle class family he lost his sight at the age of 3 after contracting smallpox and more so due to a botched attempt to cure the disease 1 his father pierre de moulin was an assessor of taxes and his mother marie d aiz descended from a noble family tragically at the age of 10 his parents died leaving him orphaned 2 john was taken in by his maternal uncle zachary d aiz he received a good education learning latin and being introduced to french literature he was impressed by the poetry of pierre de ronsard and even wrote sonnets in imitation of him before regretting and reproaching himself for such vanity 3 he enjoyed having spiritual works read aloud to him he preferred the lives of the saints the imitation of christ the institutes of johannes tauler but his favorite book was a work titled the mantlet of the spouse by flemish franciscan frans vervoort which he memorized nearly word for word and from where he drew his motto with christ i am nailed to the cross 4 john developed his obvious talent for music at twelve years old he was already playing the organ regularly in a local dominican church and he also learned other instruments including the spinet the harp the lute the flute and the oboe he admitted that it took no less than 15 minutes to learn the rudiments of any wind instrument 5 in 1597 he moved to paris and lived with his brother john baptist who worked as the secretary to the gendarmerie of france and his wife his brother s younger brother in law jean douet was willing to read spiritual works aloud to him and he continued to turn from worldly interests to the spiritual life 6 his brother john baptist died in 1601 after which john descended into poverty and depended on the good will of others for a brief period john was provided lodging by an augustinian canon m de montdidier but had to spend many hours locked out of the house when montdidier was away 7 for a period he lodged at a grocer s and supported himself by playing organ at churches in the latin quarter 8 entering the carmelites edit john began visiting the carmelite church at place maubert in paris attending daily mass and spending hours in prayer before the blessed sacrament on the feast of st anges january 21 1604 john asked the carmelite friar matheiu pinault who usually played the organ at place maubert if he could play in honor of one of his favorite saints and afterward the two became friends soon a group of friars gathered around john and pinault to read devotional works and learn about prayer and meditation the carmelites provided john with lodging in exchange for giving music lessons eventually john asked to join the carmelites as a lay brother most especially because of his blindness he was accepted into the novitiate house in dol in 1606 and professed vows the following year at the age of 35 he retained his baptismal name and took the name of st samson the first bishop of dol 9 in dol because of the humid climate and insufficient hygiene epidemics of fevers and pestilence were common during his novitiate year a young friar named olivier was infected with a plague and the others resolved to abandon the house but john remained to care for him in one instance john prevented olivier from jumping out of a window during a bout of delirium john prayed that he would regain his senses and provided that he be able to make his final confession after which olivier died 10 later john was affected by a serious fever but recovered quickly after invoking a prayer used by sacristans in st peter s in rome in order to dispel fevers 11 his superiors ordered john to invoke the same prayer daily over the sick and suffering of dol and many claimed to be healed by his prayers word of the miraculous cures spread and the bishop of dol antione revol became suspicious he attended one of the healing sessions and when as usual john invoked the prayer over the sick and blessed them he intervened asking how john could be so bold as to bless people in the presence of a bishop john apologized for he had not known that the bishop was present bishop revol asked for an opinion about the healings from his theologian who replied if people had the faith of br john and lived as authentically as he the gift of healing the sick would be far more common 12 afterward rivol became a confidant of john visiting him often and consulting him about spiritual matters and john wrote the work titled l aiguillon les flammes les fléches et le miroir de l amour de dieu a description of his prayer life for bishop revol the reform of touraine edit in the early 17th century a reform movement began within the order of carmelites in the touraine province of france led by friars pierre behourt and philippe thibault the reform advocated poverty the interior life and regular observance as antidotes for laxity and decadence of religious life in 1611 then prior thibault requested that john be transferred to the priory at rennes the principle community of the reform because his reputation for holiness was spreading throughout the province john had to undergo a second novitiate in order to join the reformed province john served as instructor and spiritual director for the novices forming the spiritual lives of a generation of reformed carmelite friars thus he became known as the soul of the reform 13 donatien of st nicholas a disciple and editor of his works said about john it is certain that this illuminated blind brother has been chosen and given to us by god to be the teacher and director of the spiritual life of our reform 14 during his days at rennes where he lived until his death john was an exemplar of observance he was always in church early at the conventual mass and during office he played the organ which was his official post he would pray the brother s office that is the set number of our fathers stipulated by carmelite rule and he observed the fasts of the church and order rigorously the rest of the time he spent in or near his cell unless attending to his special ministry of visiting the sick and comforting the dying 15 donatien wrote that his face was frequently beheld to be divinely radiant resplendent with as it were some luminous ray as i myself and other very trustworthy brothers have witnessed 16 his devotion to the blessed sacrament was privileged and he frequently received sensible consolation for hours after receiving communion as the eucharistic species subsisted in his body he admitted to his superiors that god had given him a supernatural faculty for sensing the presence or absence of the eucharist as well as the presence of priests even when they were inconspicuous among lay persons 17 often he would compose and sing canticles accompanying himself on an instrument in order to recollect himself and later fearing that he disturbed his brethren in nearby cells he would knock on their doors and beg for pardon 18 john of st samson had difficulty following the method of mental prayer proposed by the reform and practiced in common by the community thibault asked him to dictate his manner of prayer and john produced the brief tract titled the exercise of the elevation of spirit to god thibault submitted the tract to theologians of the faculty at sorbonne a nearby jesuit college and the capuchin friars and all answered favorably the discalced carmelite friars approved as well adding do not extinguish this spirit 19 death edit in old age john of st samson who long depended on his hearing grew increasingly deaf and ulcers on his legs limited his mobility the community appointed a younger friar joseph of jesus to be his guardian angel caring for the needs of the elderly brother john was criticized unfavorably by other friars who complained that he was privileged well fed and clothed while contributing little to the community 20 he suffered an unfriendly persecution in the convent others mocked his gestures and manner of speaking they even criticized the way he played the organ 21 he fell ill on september 3 1636 and reportedly while bedridden he frequently and lovingly prayed the biblical names of god of yahweh and elohim after receiving the last sacraments he apologized saying i beg everyone from the highest to the lowest to forgive me i have given them all much very bad example john of st samson died on september 14 1636 the feast of the exaltation of the cross his last words were i have been crucified with christ words of st paul to galatians which he frequently invoked in his meditations 22 his relics now remain in the grands carmes carmelite convent in nantes 23 works edit due to his blindness john of st samson did not write any works by hand many of the original manuscripts come from his office of instructor of novices his lectures were copied by secretaries revised and used for later lectures joseph of jesus recounted that often john could not recall what he had dictated because he usually followed the promptings of the spirit without reflection 24 the dictations can be unorganized and full of digressions but also spontaneous with passionate colloquies due to his blindness and his exalted spiritual state his thinking is often abstract and lacking imagery the manuscripts of john of st samson were compiled and edited by donatien of st nicholas a disciple and secretary and published in two tomes in 1658 some major works include the true spirit of carmel which asserts contemplation as primary in the carmelite charism the mirror and flames of divine love on the life of prayer and love of god written for bishop antione revol of dol soliloquies and contemplations affectionate conversations of the soul with god the epithalamium an extended prose poem of bridal mysticism 25 he composed many poems and canticles which were recorded by his willing secretaries although he lived after the golden ages of spanish mysticism and the french school john of st samson was notably more influenced by the earlier northern mysticism of john of ruusbroec and johannes tauler in some sense he was incubated by his lack of education hidden life and dependence on others to read to him 26 his spirituality favored introversion and continual prayer and more affective than intellectual he often speaks of the soul engaging in an amorous battle with god that the soul should throw darts of longing into the heart of god which are returned by his grace one of his foremost teachings was of the value of frequent internal and affectionate prayers called aspirations john of st samson was influenced by teachings of hugh of balma and hendrik herp and continued the doctrine further asserting that aspirations are the shortest path for the soul to be carried into the highest stages of the spiritual life he wrote aspiration practiced as a familiar respectful and loving conversation with god is such an excellent method that by means of it one soon arrives at the summit of all perfection and falls in love with love you and i my love aspiratory prayer of john of saint samson you and i my love you and i you and i and never another nor more since you are entirely good and all goodness itself since you are entirely glorious and all glory itself since you are entirely holy and all holiness itself amen 27 further reading edit light on carmel an anthology by john of st samson translated by joachim smet published in the sword carmelite publications 1941 prayer aspiration and contemplation selections from the writings of john of st samson o carm mystic and charismatic translated by venard poslusney o carm alba house 1975 letter to a religious and the exercise of the spirit to god by john of st samson trans by redemptus m valabek in carmel in the world vol 11 carmelite publications 1972 246 249 excerpts from the goad the flames the arrows and the mirror of the love of god by john of st samson in the carmelite tradition by steven payne ocd edited by phyllis zagano collegeville mn liturgical press 2008 p 79 85 robert stefanotti the phoenix of rennes the life and poetry of john of st samson 1571 1636 medieval and early modern mysticism volume 2 new york peter lang 1994 references edit donatien de saint nicolas 1651 la vie les maximes et partie des oeuvres du fr jean de st samson paris denis thierry p 2 poslusney o carm vernard 1975 prayer aspiration and contemplation from the writings of john of st samson o c...