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St. John of the Cross (1542-1591) was born and died in Spain. His parents were poor and could not give him training in any trade. Hence he became the servant of the sick in the hospital of Medina. In 1563 he offered himself as a lay brother to the Carmelite friars, who, however, perceiving his unusual talents, had him ordained a priest. When he was about to join the more severe Order of the Carthusians, the saintly Teresa persuaded him to remain and help her in the reform of the Carmelite Order. This reform of his order caused him such sufferings and brought him many trials. But his sufferings served only to detach him from creatures. He had a great devotion to Our Lord's Passion and voluntarily sought out humiliations. When Our Lord asked him what reward he would ask for his labors, John answered: "To suffer and to be despised for Thee." He died of a cruel disease, embracing the crucifix. Because of his profound treatises on mystical theology Pope Pius XI proclaimed him Doctor of the Church. According to the 1962 Missal of St. John XXIII the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite St. John of Cross' feast is celebrated on November 24.
St. John of the Cross
Juan de Yepes was the Castilian son of a poor silk weaver of Fontiberos, Toledo, Spain and was born in 1542. His father was of noble birth; he had married much beneath him, and for that offense had been entirely cut off by his family. He had taken to silk weaving as a means of livelihood, but had never been able to make much of it. Soon after the birth of Juan he died, worn out with the effort to keep his wife and three children. The family was left in direst poverty; the children grew up always underfed, so that to the end of his life Juan remained dwarfed in stature.
Unable to learn a trade, he became the servant of the poor in the hospital of Medina, while still pursuing his sacred studies. In 1563, being then twenty-one, he humbly offered himself as a lay-brother to the Carmelite friars, who, however, knowing his talents, had him ordained priest. He would now have exchanged to the severe Carthusian Order, had not St. Teresa of Avila, with the instinct of a saint, persuaded him to remain and help her in the reform of his own Order.
Thus he became the first prior of the Discalced (meaning "barefoot") Carmelites. His reform, though approved by the general, was rejected by the elder friars, who condemned the saint as a fugitive and apostate, and cast him into prison, whence he only escaped, after nine months' suffering, at the risk of his life. Twice again, before his death, he was shamefully persecuted by his brethren, and publicly disgraced. But his complete abandonment by creatures only deepened his interior peace and devout longing for heaven.
St. John was a great contemplative and spiritual writer. He was proclaimed Doctor of the Church by Pope Pius XI on August 24, 1926. He is the patron of contemplative life, mystical theology, mystics, and Spanish poets.
Excerpted from Little Pictorial Lives of the Saints © 1878 and Saints for Sinners by Alban Goodier, S.J.
"With what procrastinations do you wait, since from this very moment you can love God in your heart?"
Excerpted from Prayer of a Soul Taken with Love St. John of the Cross
Mine are the heavens and mine is the earth. Mine are the nations, the just are mine and mine the sinners. The angels are mine, and the Mother of God, and all things are mine; and God himself is mine and for me, because Christ is mine and all for me. What do you ask, then, and seek my soul? Yours is all of this, and all is for you. Do not engage your self in something less or pay heed to the crumbs that fall from your Father's table. Go forth and exult in your Glory! Hide yourself in it and rejoice, and you will obtain the supplications of your heart.
Excerpted from Sayings of Light and Love, 26-27 St. John of the Cross
Patron: Contemplative life; contemplatives; mystical theology; mystics; Spanish poets
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Saint John of the Cross, Priest and Doctor of the Church (Memorial)
Whose glory is equal to yours? (Sirach 48:4)
Superheroes may be the stuff of fiction, but if we turn to the Bible, we find plenty of people who perform incredible feats that are out of the ordinary. Take Elijah the prophet, for example. If we could assign him a superpower, it would probably involve fire. Todays first reading describes how Elijah three times brought down fire, and how, at the end of his life, he was taken aloft in a whirlwind of fire, in a chariot with fiery horses (Sirach 48:3, 9).
But did you notice a shift in tone in this reading? From the powerful and somewhat scary images of fire and judgment, the passage ends on a softer, more hopeful note. Elijah is destined to put an end to wrath before the day of the Lord, to turn back the hearts of fathers toward their sons, and to re-establish the tribes of Jacob (Sirach 48:10). What should we make of such a switch?
Well, we all know that Elijahs superpowers didnt come from Elijah himself—they came from God. God can create something out of nothing; he can manipulate the natural elements. His might and power are beyond our wildest imagination. So the shift in tone tells us that God is not just some super-superhero who goes around striking down the wicked with lightning bolts. He is a God of just judgment but also a God of mercy. He is the Creator of the universe, and he cares about each and every one of us. He knows the most intimate details of our lives, including our failings. And he wants to make them right.
During Advent, the Church invites us to fix our eyes on Jesus. But the image we see is of a helpless baby, born in obscurity two thousand years ago—who is also fully God and fully man, the author of all life who has come to destroy sin and death.
God could have come into our world in a blaze of glory, like Elijah riding on his fiery chariot. But he chose a different path. He inserted himself into our lives in the most vulnerable way imaginable. He didnt come to intimidate us but to get close to us. And he does that by using the greatest superpower of all—his love.
Jesus, you are awesome in your deeds and loving in your heart.
Psalm 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19
Matthew 17:9-13