by Richard E. Dumont Ph. D. (Author)
This commentary focuses on the four major writings of our Holy Carmelite Father, St. John of the Cross. He rightfully enjoys throughout Holy Mother, the Church, not only the title of Doctor of Mystical Theology but also the reputation of being a most august and excellent mystagogue among all of the Church's mystics. The key to our Holy Father's mysticism is the cross of Christ with its triune cruciformity. The vertical beam embraces the eternal/temporal order of the universe's existence; the horizontal beam spans the historical order of the world's resistance beginning with the Book of Genesis and the world's future end culminating eschatologically in the Last Judgment. The third order is the cross's cruciformity consistently reconciling these two vertical and horizontal beams together in the Paschal Mystery of Jesus Christ's crucifixion, resurrection, ascension, and Parousia, final return in glory.
Author Biography
Dr. Richard E. Dumont, a member of the Secular Discalced Carmelite Order, earned his Master's degree in Philosophy at Boston College, Boston, Massachusetts, and received a Pontifical Doctoral degree in Philosophy within the Scholastic tradition from the University of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Presently, he is a Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at Xavier University where he taught over 38 years in the fields of Ethics, Metaphysics, Logic, Epistemology, Existentialism, and Natural Theology. Also, he taught for many years in the Department of Philosophy at the Catholic Diocesan Seminary in Cincinnati, Ohio. He earned a Visiting Professorship at Loyola University in Rome, Italy. During that time he conducted research on John Duns Scotus under the auspices of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.