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We have with us today Father Donald Haggerty.

He is a priest in the Archdiocese of New York, and the author of many things, including contemplative provocations, another book, The Contemplative Hunger, Conversion, and Contemplative Enigmas. His new book is

St. John of the Cross, Master of Contemplation. That is our topic today. Welcome, Father Haggertie.

Thank you so much, Mark. I appreciate you having me. All right. Well, why don't you, you know, just for some of our readers,

you know, we've got a pretty knowledgeable readers, but just in case, can you give us a very brief,

we'll get into the details, but a very brief biological sketch of our subject. Who was St. John of the Cross?

St. John of the Cross was a Carmelite priest who was a companion of sorts with the well-known

St. Teresa Vabala. In the 16th century, Teresa Vavala, who had been living already as a Carmelite

...