St John of the Cross

I am not very familiar with saints from my Baptist background. =P The first time I have heard about this guy was during my Spain trip in 2005 when I went to Avila. (I think St. Teresa of Avila was his mentor.)

In the book Devotional Classics, his book Dark Night of the Soul (this link is from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library) was also introduced.

God leads into the dark night those whom He desires to purify from all these imperfections so that He may bring them farther onward.

Here's an excerpt from the book, where St John of the Cross talked about the seven kinds of sins God is trying remove from us during this period. This part is about pride.

AS these beginners feel themselves to be very fervent and diligent in spiritual things and devout exercises, from this prosperity there often comes to them, through their imperfections, a certain kind of secret pride, whence they come to have some degree of satisfaction with their works and with themselves. And hence there comes to them likewise a certain desire, which is somewhat vain, and at times very vain, to speak of spiritual things in the presence of others, and sometimes even to teach such things rather than to learn them. They condemn others in their heart when they see that they have not the kind of devotion which they themselves desire; and sometimes they even say this in words, herein resembling the Pharisee, who boasted of himself, praising God for his own good works and despising the publican...

They are too much embarrassed to confess their sins nakedly, lest their confessors should think less of them, so they palliate them and make them appear less evil, and thus it is to excuse themselves rather than to accuse themselves that they go to confession...

Often they beseech God, with great yearnings, that He will take from them their imperfections and faults, but they do this that they may find themselves at peace, and may not be troubled by them, rather than for God’s sake; not realizing that, if He should take their imperfections from them, they would probably become prouder and more presumptuous still...

For the greater is their fervour, and the more numerous are the works that they perform, and the greater is the pleasure that they take in them, as they progress in humility, the more do they realize how much God deserves of them, and how little is all that they do for His sake; and thus, the more they do, the less are they satisfied. So much would they gladly do from charity and love for Him, that all they do seems to them naught; and so greatly are they importuned, occupied and absorbed by this loving anxiety that they never notice what others do or do not; or if they do notice it, they always believe, as I say, that all others are far better than they themselves.

Want to read more? The whole book is available on the Christian Classics Ethereal Library on the web. And there's another pdf version of the book, here. The language is a bit archaic though. though...