This priest and contemplative was the cornerstone of the renewal of the Carmelite Order in the 16^th century, in conjunction with Saint Teresa of Avila. Saint John is considered one of the masters of Spanish poetry, as the following example attests:
To assuage my pains, I gaze on Thee                                                      
Beneath sacramental veils,                                                                  
Yet even here my spirit fails                                                                  
Because Thy face I cannot see.                                                                     
All brings but greater pain to me,                                                                  
Who see Thee thus imperfectly                                                                    
And die because I do not die.