The Trinitarian Dimension of Prayer According to St. John of the Cross

Abstract

The article explores the problem of the relation between a believer’s prayer and the Persons of the Holy Trinity on the basis of writings of St. John of the Cross (1542-1591), Carmelite mystic and Doctor of the Church. Two interrelated issues are considered: the theological foundation of trinitarian prayer and the practice of this type of prayer, in other words the to be and to act of the believer. The practice of prayer is based on the conscious participation of the believer in the trinitarian dialogue: to the Father through Christ in the Holy Spirit. Taking into account the structure of the article, in order to be able to answer to the research problem posed at the beginning, the theological sources and writings of St. John of the Cross were analyzed. Conclusions: The source of prayer is our divine sonship in Christ and the related ability for supernatural communication with God and the mystery of the indwelling of the Holy Trinity in the soul. Without God’s objective presence in human life and without the person’s ability for dialogue with him, prayer would be absolutely impossible. Prayerful dialogue is carried out by the Holy Spirit. Our task is to remain united with Christ, and in Him let ourselves be led by Holy Spirit. The quality of prayer will depend on the degree of knowledge of God and oneself, and on the quality of love that the believer can develop by fulfilling God’s will, depending on the type of vocation received. While the ability to pray is an obvious truth of catechesis, the logic of the trinitarian prayer practice is best grasped by analyzing the believer’s mystical union with God. On the basis of this union, it is possible to observe the absolute priority of the action of the Holy Spirit in the entire spiritual life of the believer. The believer’s role is to remain open to and cooperate with the actions of the Holy Spirit.