St. John of the Cross began composing his poem, "The Spiritual Canticle," when he was imprisoned by his brother friars in Toledo, Spain. The Carmelite order at that time was at war with itself. During the previous centuries, the disciplines required of the nuns and friars had slowly been relaxed, although they still were austere by modern standards.

The Living Flame of Love is sometimes described as the most accessible of St. John’s major works and therefore a good place to begin becoming acquainted with his ideas.

The Ascent of Mount Carmel is really the first part of what St. John of the Cross intended to be a single work. The second part comes to us as a separate volume, The Dark Night. The two are intended to be read together, beginning with The Ascent, which contains the practical introduction to a life of deeper prayer.