St. John of the Cross was a Carmelite friar and priest; he is renowned for his cooperation with Saint Teresa of Avila in the reformation of the Carmelite order and for his poetry and his studies on the growth of the soul. Dark Night of the Soul is considered one of the greatest religious poems ever written. This masterpiece of Mystic Christianity examines faith and how to keep faith when all seems lost. Think of it as guide to making it through the dark night of the soul to the brighter happier faith filled tomorrow that awaits.