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Tuesday after Epiphany

Commentary of the day
Saint John of the Cross (1542-1591), Carmelite, Doctor of the Church
Spiritual Canticle, 2nd redaction (copyright Institute of Carmelite Studies, 1991)

"It was already very late...They all ate and were satisfied"

     My Beloved, the tranquil night
     at the time of the rising dawn,
     silent music,
     sounding solitude,
     the supper that refreshes, and deepens love.

It should be known that in divine Scripture this term "supper" refers to the divine vision. Just as supper comes at the end of a day's work and the beginning of evening rest, this tranquil knowledge causes the soul to experience a certain end of her evils and the possession of good things in which her love of God is deepened more than before. As a result, he is the supper that refreshes by being the end of evils for her, and deepens love by being to her the possession of all goods.

Yet for a better understanding of what this supper is to the soul - it is, as we said, her Beloved - we should note in this appropriate place what the beloved Bridegroom says in the Apocalypse: “I stand at the door and knock;  if anyone opens, I shall enter and we shall sup together” (Rv. 3:20). In this text he indicates that he carries his supper with him, and it is nothing but his very own delights and savors that he himself enjoys. In uniting himself with the soul he imparts them, and she likewise enjoys them. For such is the meaning of the words, "we shall sup together." Hence these words declare the effect of the divine union of the soul with God, in which God's very own goods are graciously and bounteously shared in common with his bride, the soul. He himself is for her the “supper that refreshes and deepens love”, for in being bounteous he refreshes her, and in being gracious he deepens love in her.