#stjohnofthecross — Public Fediverse posts
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Quote of the day, 26 April: St. John of the Cross
1. A lone young shepherd lived in pain
withdrawn from pleasure and contentment,
his thoughts fixed on a shepherd-girl
his heart an open wound with love.2. He weeps, but not from the wound of love,
there is no pain in such affliction,
even though the heart is pierced;
he weeps in knowing he’s been forgotten.3. That one thought: his shining one
has forgotten him, is such great pain
that he bows to brutal handling in a foreign land,
his heart an open wound with love.4. The shepherd says: I pity the one
who draws herself back from my love,
and does not seek the joy of my presence,
though my heart is an open wound with love for her.5. After a long time, he climbed a tree,
and spread his shining arms,
and hung by them, and died,
his heart an open wound with love.Saint John of the Cross
Poem 7, Stanzas applied spiritually to Christ and the soul
John of the Cross, St 1991, The Collected Works of St. John of the Cross, rev. edn, Kavanaugh, K & Rodriguez, O (trans.), ICS Publications, Washington DC.
Featured image: The Good Shepherd is an oil on canvas painting by American artist Henry Ossawa Tanner, dated 1902. This image comes from the Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers University. Image credit: Zimmerli Art Museum / Google Art Project (Public domain).
#goodShepherd #poetry #sadness #StJohnOfTheCross #woundOfLove -
Quote of the day, 27 March: José Vicente Rodríguez, ocd
Among the laypeople who followed John of the Cross, one stands out in a particular way: Doña Ana de Mercado y Peñalosa. She left Granada and returned to her native city of Segovia, where she took up residence in small houses purchased and made ready beside the convent of the Discalced Carmelite friars, so as to remain close to her spiritual father, Fray John of the Cross, and to the monastery whose foundation she was helping to support.
This was not the construction of a new house, as some historians have supposed, but the purchase of two small dwellings. Gaspar de Herrera—a priest and administrator of the Mercy Hospital in Segovia—sold, with the permission of the city’s provisor, “to the prior, friars, and convent of the monastery of Our Lady of Mount Carmel of the Discalced, outside the city walls […] two houses and an enclosed plot with poplars and a well fed by a natural spring, which the said Hospital owned in the parish of Saint Mark.” The agreed price was “180 ducats, amounting to 67,500 maravedís,” to be paid in three installments.
The deed of sale was carried out with particular solemnity, since all the members of the Consulta and four chapter members of the Segovia convent took part in it. All the members of the Consulta signed, including John of the Cross himself. The purchase is dated August 11, 1589. A few days later, Doña Ana de Peñalosa paid the agreed sum. Shortly afterward, the two small houses were joined into a single dwelling where she could live for the rest of her life.
She still retained her palace in the city, however, and John of the Cross would often go there as well. One of the household servants, Leonor de Vitoria—who saw Fray John many times and went to confession to him—recalls how, when he came to the house, he would speak with Doña Ana and her niece, Inés de Mercado y Peñalosa. She saw him “in the presence of all the servants, speaking and conversing about holy and spiritual things, about heaven, and about how they might become saints. His words were always of this kind. At times, while speaking of these things, he would read them certain devout texts; at other times, he would leave them books in which such things were written, so that they might attend to them and serve our Lord.”
It is not clear whether Ana de Jesús was already among Doña Ana’s household servants; in her Testament, Doña Ana refers to her as “my servant… now in my service.”
Leonor also notes that Doña Ana would always invite Fray John “to sit down and not remain seated on the floor; but the saint would not agree, always seeking the humblest place in which to sit.” She adds, speaking of his modesty and bearing, that “simply by seeing him and hearing him, one was recollected and seemed moved to desire to serve our Lord. His words were holy and good, never idle. Everything that could be seen in him, whether in his words or his actions, was entirely holy, and he appeared to be very full of God and of virtues.”
Another witness, Lucas de San José, says that Fray John taught Doña Ana and her niece Doña Inés “the way of perfection,” and that “when the saint would go out to speak with them at the confessional, it was a common saying among the friars: ‘Now Saint Jerome, Saint Paula, and Eustochium are together.’”
Luis de Mercado y Peñalosa, Doña Ana’s nephew, also had much contact with John of the Cross. What he says about the saint’s virtues comes both from his own experience and from what he heard—especially about his humility and modesty—from his wife, Doña Inés de Mercado, “who for many years was in close contact with the holy father Fray John of the Cross, together with her aunt, Doña Ana de Mercado y Peñalosa.” He also recounts in detail the transfer of the saint’s remains from Úbeda and the veneration he received in Segovia.
José Vicente Rodríguez, o.c.d.
San Juan de la Cruz, ch. 27
Rodríguez, J.V. 2015, San Juan de la Cruz: la biografía, 2nd edn, San Pablo, Madrid.
Translation from the Spanish text is the blogger’s own work product and may not be reproduced without permission.
Featured image: This detail from an image of St. John of the Cross was engraved in 1788 by Gilles Antoine Demarteau. The technique used—of which Demarteau was a master—was crayon-manner in red and black, based on a drawing by Taillasson. The Art Institute of Chicago has a marvelous image of the tools used in crayon-manner engraving, with detailed figures of the process. Image credit: Rijksmuseum, Antwerp (Public domain)
#benefactor #DoñaAnaDelMercadoYPeñalosa #history #Segovia #StJohnOfTheCross -
St. John of the Cross Novena Compendium
“What profit is there in anything that is not the love of God, and what value has it in God’s sight?”
St. John of the Cross
Ascent of Mount Carmel, Book III, Chapter 30Seven Years With Saint John of the Cross (2018–2024)
This compendium brings together seven novenas to Saint John of the Cross, prayed over the years with varying themes, voices, and approaches, yet all rooted in the same desire to draw closer to God through the wisdom of the Mystical Doctor. Some novenas follow John’s classic texts in steady sequence; others explore particular dimensions of his teaching—humility, the dark night, the spousal love of the Bridegroom, or the daily work of conversion. Whether presented with simple questions, pastoral reflections, or the insights of guest authors, each novena offers a different doorway into John’s vision of the soul’s ascent to God. Taken together, they form a rich and varied path of prayer, inviting readers to encounter St. John anew and to walk with him toward the transforming union for which every heart is made.
2018 Novena: From Detachment to Peace
This 2018 novena brings together nine short texts from Saint John of the Cross—taken from the Ascent, the Sayings of Light and Love, his letters, the Spiritual Canticle, and the Living Flame. Presented with brief Scripture passages and a traditional novena prayer, these selections trace a simple but steady movement through John’s major themes: the call to walk the path of Christ, to live in peace, to embrace virtue and detachment, to receive instruction in the dark night, and to be drawn toward union with God.
2019 Novena: Humility and Inner Conversion
This 2019 novena on Humility and Inner Conversion invites the soul to stand in truth before God, following Saint John of the Cross along the path of self-emptying, contrition, and trust. Drawing especially from the Sayings of Light and Love, each day confronts the illusions of self-reliance and pride, calling the heart to descend into the “wholly loving trust” that alone opens us to God’s mercy. Through Scripture, John’s terse and luminous counsels, and the daily novena prayer, readers are led into a deeper formation of conscience and a more earnest desire for the transforming grace that restores humility and shapes a life of authentic discipleship.
2020 Novena: Journey to Union
This 2020 novena revisits the same readings from Saint John of the Cross that appeared in the 2018 series. Instead of introducing new material, it re-presents those earlier selections—drawn from the Ascent, the Sayings of Light and Love, his letters, the Spiritual Canticle, and the Living Flame of Love—with revised titles and a fresh presentation. This repetition was intentional: the same words of John can speak differently from year to year, offering another opportunity to pray more deeply with his teaching.
2021 Novena: Examining the Heart
The 2021 novena also draws on the familiar nine readings from Saint John of the Cross but approaches them in a new way. This time the familiar texts are framed by simple, searching questions—What do you want? What must I do? How can I understand?—inviting a more personal examen in light of John’s teaching. With the daily Scripture passage, John’s brief selection, and the novena prayer from Carmel in Nigeria, the focus is less on introducing new material and more on letting the saint’s words probe the heart again, offering fresh grace through repeated prayer and reflection.
2022 Novena: The Night That Gives Sight (with Fr. Quang D. Tran, S.J.)
In this 2022 novena, Father Quang D. Tran, S.J., reflects on Saint John of the Cross’s teaching on the “dark night,” the purifying work by which God strips away the artificial lights in our lives so that we may see the true Light more clearly. Drawing on John’s own suffering and the wisdom of other spiritual masters, he shows how faith—stripped of lesser consolations—guides us more surely toward God. In the spirit of Advent, with its call to watchfulness and discernment, this novena helps us distinguish between the lights that blind and the Light that strengthens faith, hope, and love even in our darkest moments.
2023 Novena: Our Bridegroom and Friend
In this 2023 novena, guest author Laura Ercolino reflects on Saint John of the Cross’s teaching on the soul’s spousal relationship with Christ, drawing deeply from the Song of Songs and John’s own Spiritual Canticle. She reminds us that John understood the Canticle as the scriptural key to the soul’s journey toward transforming union—the divine marriage for which every heart is made. As the novena pairs John’s writings with verses from the Song of Songs, Laura invites readers to notice how the Divine Bridegroom is already wooing and drawing them into intimacy, offering foretastes of union even as we continue our ascent toward the eternal wedding feast.
2024 Novena: Walking the Path of Love
The 2024 novena, Walking the Path of Love, presented the nine classic readings from Saint John of the Cross with added depth through daily “Thoughts to Ponder” and a podcast introduction. Each day unfolded one of John’s central themes—rejoicing in God alone, responding to divine love, cultivating peace, embracing suffering with Christ, detachment, guidance in the dark night, spiritual marriage, and union—while inviting readers to reflect personally on how these teachings speak to their own journey. With the traditional novena prayer from the Carmelite nuns of Little Rock, this year’s novena offered a more catechetical and reflective approach, encouraging a sincere engagement with John’s wisdom and a renewed openness to the transforming work of divine love.
How to Use This Collection
Each novena follows the same structure: a brief introduction followed by nine days of prayer and reflection. You can pray them:
- Around St. John of the Cross’s solemnity (14 December)
- During times of personal need for his intercession
- As part of your spiritual reading throughout the year
- With family or prayer groups seeking his guidance
If you’re new to Saint John of the Cross, the 2019 novena is an excellent place to begin. Drawing from the Sayings of Light and Love, it introduces John’s spirituality in short, accessible steps and provides a helpful foundation for the deeper themes explored in the other novenas.
Novena Prayer
O seraphic St. John of the Cross,
the ardent love which burned always in your heart
led you to see all things only in God
and to seek only His glory.
It was to increase this love
and thus unite yourself more closely to God
that you led such a penitential life.Mention your request
I beg you, inflame my heart with a love like yours,
so that I may have the courage to mortify myself
and give myself generously to the practice of virtue.
Thus may I truly love God
with all the fervor of which I am capable.
Amen.Our Father…
Hail Mary…
Glory be…
Saint John of the Cross, pray for us!
John of the Cross, St 1991, The Collected Works of St. John of the Cross, rev. edn, Kavanaugh, K & Rodriguez, O (trans.), ICS Publications, Washington DC.
All scripture references in this novena are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America as accessed from the Bible Gateway website.
Don’t become discouraged and give up prayer, says St. John of the Cross. We offer varying novenas to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, as well as novenas to St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Sts. Louis and Zélie Martin, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, and St. Joseph.
Featured image: The bronze figure of Saint John of the Cross is part of the public artwork Homenaje al primer encuentro de Santa Teresa de Jesús y San Juan de la Cruz en Medina del Campo en 1567. Photograph by Ángel Cantero, October 2015. Image source: Iglesia en Valladolid on Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0). Collage for the Novena Compendium created by Carmelite Quotes in Adobe Express.
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Quote of the day, 29 January: St. John of the Cross
I went out seeking love,
and with unfaltering hope
I flew so high, so high,
that I overtook the prey.That I might take the prey
of this adventuring in God
I had to fly so high
that I was lost from sight;
and though in this adventure
I faltered in my flight,
yet love had already flown so high
that I took the prey.When I ascended higher
my vision was dazzled,
and the most difficult conquest
came about in darkness;
but since I was seeking love
the leap I made was blind and dark,
and I rose so high, so high,
that I took the prey.The higher I ascended
in this seeking so lofty
the lower and more subdued
and abased I became.
I said: No one can overtake it!
And sank, ah, so low,
that I was so high, so high,
that I took the prey.In a wonderful way
my one flight surpassed a thousand,
for the hope of heaven
attains as much as it hopes for;
this seeking is my only hope,
and in hoping, I made no mistake,
because I flew so high, so high,
that I took the prey.Saint John of the Cross
Poetry 6, Stanzas given a spiritual meaning
John of the Cross, St. 1991, The Collected Works of St. John of the Cross, Revised Edition, translated from the Spanish by Kavanaugh, K and Rodriguez, O with revisions and introductions by Kavanaugh, K, ICS Publications, Washington DC.
Featured image: Photographer Elisa Stone captures this image of a bald eagle flying high in the mountains of Northern California. Image credit: Elisa Stone / Unsplash (Stock photo)
#adventure #ascent #heaven #hope #love #poetry #search #StJohnOfTheCross
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Day 9 of our novena to St. John of the Cross reflects on forgetting all for peace: “When all things are forgotten, nothing disturbs the peace.” #Novena #StJohnoftheCross
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Day 9 of our novena to St. John of the Cross reflects on forgetting all for peace: “When all things are forgotten, nothing disturbs the peace.” #Novena #StJohnoftheCross
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Day 9 of our novena to St. John of the Cross reflects on forgetting all for peace: “When all things are forgotten, nothing disturbs the peace.” #Novena #StJohnoftheCross
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Day 8 of our novena to St. John of the Cross reflects on union with the Bridegroom: “An awakening of God in the soul.” #Novena #StJohnoftheCross
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Day 8 of our novena to St. John of the Cross reflects on union with the Bridegroom: “An awakening of God in the soul.” #Novena #StJohnoftheCross
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Day 8 of our novena to St. John of the Cross reflects on union with the Bridegroom: “An awakening of God in the soul.” #Novena #StJohnoftheCross
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Day 7 of our novena to St. John of the Cross reflects on spiritual marriage: “It is a total transformation in the Beloved.” #Novena #StJohnoftheCross
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Day 7 of our novena to St. John of the Cross reflects on spiritual marriage: “It is a total transformation in the Beloved.” #Novena #StJohnoftheCross
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Day 7 of our novena to St. John of the Cross reflects on spiritual marriage: “It is a total transformation in the Beloved.” #Novena #StJohnoftheCross
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Day 6 of our novena to St. John of the Cross reflects on the guidance we need to navigate spiritual darkness. #Novena #StJohnoftheCross
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Day 6 of our novena to St. John of the Cross reflects on the guidance we need to navigate spiritual darkness. #Novena #StJohnoftheCross
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Day 6 of our novena to St. John of the Cross reflects on the guidance we need to navigate spiritual darkness. #Novena #StJohnoftheCross
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Day 5 of our novena to St. John of the Cross: “Compared to the infinite goodness of God, all the goodness of creatures can be called wickedness.” #Novena #StJohnoftheCross
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Day 5 of our novena to St. John of the Cross: “Compared to the infinite goodness of God, all the goodness of creatures can be called wickedness.” #Novena #StJohnoftheCross
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Day 5 of our novena to St. John of the Cross: “Compared to the infinite goodness of God, all the goodness of creatures can be called wickedness.” #Novena #StJohnoftheCross
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Day 4 of our novena to St. John of the Cross: “Desire to resemble somewhat in suffering this great God of ours, humbled and crucified.” #Novena #StJohnoftheCross
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Day 4 of our novena to St. John of the Cross: “Desire to resemble somewhat in suffering this great God of ours, humbled and crucified.” #Novena #StJohnoftheCross
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Day 4 of our novena to St. John of the Cross: “Desire to resemble somewhat in suffering this great God of ours, humbled and crucified.” #Novena #StJohnoftheCross
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Day 3 of our novena to St. John of the Cross: “Strive to preserve your heart in peace; let no event of this world disturb it.” #Novena #StJohnoftheCross
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Day 3 of our novena to St. John of the Cross: “Strive to preserve your heart in peace; let no event of this world disturb it.” #Novena #StJohnoftheCross
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Day 3 of our novena to St. John of the Cross: “Strive to preserve your heart in peace; let no event of this world disturb it.” #Novena #StJohnoftheCross
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Day 2 of our novena to St. John of the Cross: “I pity the one who draws herself back from my love… my heart is an open wound.” #Novena #StJohnoftheCross
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A bird caught in birdlime has a twofold task: It must free itself and cleanse itself. And by satisfying their appetites, people suffer in a twofold way: They must detach themselves and, after being detached, clean themselves of what has clung to them.
Those who do not allow their appetites to carry them away will soar in their spirit as swiftly as the bird that lacks no feathers.
Sayings of Light and Love, nos. 22–23
Here we have the reason for stating that two wills become one. And this one will is God’s will, which also becomes the soul’s. If a person were to desire an imperfection unwanted by God, this one will of God would be undone because of the desire for what God does not will.
Clearly, for a soul to reach union with God through its will and love, it must first be freed from every appetite, however slight. That is, one must not give consent of the will advertently and knowingly to an imperfection, and one must have the power and freedom to be able, upon advertence, to refuse this consent.
Some examples of these habitual imperfections are: the common habit of being very talkative; a small attachment one never really desires to conquer, for example, to a person, to clothing, to a book or a cell, or to the way food is prepared, and to other trifling conversations and little satisfactions in tasting, knowing, and hearing things, and so on.
Any of these habitual imperfections to which there is attachment is as harmful to progress in virtue as the daily commission of many other imperfections and sporadic venial sins that do not result from a bad habit. These latter will not hinder a person as much as will the attachment to something. As long as this attachment remains, it is impossible to make progress in perfection, even though the imperfection may be very small.
It makes little difference whether a bird is tied by a thin thread or by a cord. Even if it is tied by thread, the bird will be held bound just as surely as if it were tied by cord; that is, it will be impeded from flying as long as it does not break the thread. Admittedly the thread is easier to break, but no matter how easily this may be done, the bird will not fly away without first doing so.
This is the lot of those who are attached to something: No matter how much virtue they have they will not reach the freedom of the divine union.
An individual’s appetite and attachment resemble the remora, which, if successful in clinging to a ship, will hold it back and prevent it from reaching port, or even from sailing, even though this fish is exceptionally small.
It is regrettable, then, to behold some souls, laden as rich vessels with wealth, deeds, spiritual exercises, virtues, and favors from God, who never advance because they lack the courage to make a complete break with some little satisfaction, attachment, or affection (which are all about the same) and thereby never reach the port of perfection.
This requires no more than a sudden flap of one’s wings in order to tear the thread of attachment, or to get rid of the clinging remora.
Saint John of the Cross
The Ascent of Mount Carmel, I, chap. 11, nos. 3–4
John of the Cross, St. 1991, The Collected Works of St. John of the Cross, Revised Edition, translated from the Spanish by Kavanaugh, K and Rodriguez, O with revisions and introductions by Kavanaugh, K, ICS Publications, Washington DC.
Featured image: Photographer Djalma Paiva Armelin captured this image of a glittering-throated emerald hummingbird (Chionomesa fimbriata) feeding in Brazil in 2017. Image credit: Djalma Paiva Armelin / pexels.com (Stock photo)
https://carmelitequotes.blog/2024/08/22/juan-birdlime/
#attachment #bird #freedom #love #perfection #power #sin #StJohnOfTheCross #unionWithGod #willOfGod
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A bird caught in birdlime has a twofold task: It must free itself and cleanse itself. And by satisfying their appetites, people suffer in a twofold way: They must detach themselves and, after being detached, clean themselves of what has clung to them.
Those who do not allow their appetites to carry them away will soar in their spirit as swiftly as the bird that lacks no feathers.
Sayings of Light and Love, nos. 22–23
Here we have the reason for stating that two wills become one. And this one will is God’s will, which also becomes the soul’s. If a person were to desire an imperfection unwanted by God, this one will of God would be undone because of the desire for what God does not will.
Clearly, for a soul to reach union with God through its will and love, it must first be freed from every appetite, however slight. That is, one must not give consent of the will advertently and knowingly to an imperfection, and one must have the power and freedom to be able, upon advertence, to refuse this consent.
Some examples of these habitual imperfections are: the common habit of being very talkative; a small attachment one never really desires to conquer, for example, to a person, to clothing, to a book or a cell, or to the way food is prepared, and to other trifling conversations and little satisfactions in tasting, knowing, and hearing things, and so on.
Any of these habitual imperfections to which there is attachment is as harmful to progress in virtue as the daily commission of many other imperfections and sporadic venial sins that do not result from a bad habit. These latter will not hinder a person as much as will the attachment to something. As long as this attachment remains, it is impossible to make progress in perfection, even though the imperfection may be very small.
It makes little difference whether a bird is tied by a thin thread or by a cord. Even if it is tied by thread, the bird will be held bound just as surely as if it were tied by cord; that is, it will be impeded from flying as long as it does not break the thread. Admittedly the thread is easier to break, but no matter how easily this may be done, the bird will not fly away without first doing so.
This is the lot of those who are attached to something: No matter how much virtue they have they will not reach the freedom of the divine union.
An individual’s appetite and attachment resemble the remora, which, if successful in clinging to a ship, will hold it back and prevent it from reaching port, or even from sailing, even though this fish is exceptionally small.
It is regrettable, then, to behold some souls, laden as rich vessels with wealth, deeds, spiritual exercises, virtues, and favors from God, who never advance because they lack the courage to make a complete break with some little satisfaction, attachment, or affection (which are all about the same) and thereby never reach the port of perfection.
This requires no more than a sudden flap of one’s wings in order to tear the thread of attachment, or to get rid of the clinging remora.
Saint John of the Cross
The Ascent of Mount Carmel, I, chap. 11, nos. 3–4
John of the Cross, St. 1991, The Collected Works of St. John of the Cross, Revised Edition, translated from the Spanish by Kavanaugh, K and Rodriguez, O with revisions and introductions by Kavanaugh, K, ICS Publications, Washington DC.
Featured image: Photographer Djalma Paiva Armelin captured this image of a glittering-throated emerald hummingbird (Chionomesa fimbriata) feeding in Brazil in 2017. Image credit: Djalma Paiva Armelin / pexels.com (Stock photo)
https://carmelitequotes.blog/2024/08/22/juan-birdlime/
#attachment #bird #freedom #love #perfection #power #sin #StJohnOfTheCross #unionWithGod #willOfGod
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Inspirations of Love and Hope @richardsilverman108.wordpress.com@richardsilverman108.wordpress.com ·
My Spiritual Journey with St. John of the Cross and Jesus Christ
Hey everyone! I’ve been on a fascinating journey lately, exploring some deep spiritual stuff that’s really been blowing my mind. And, let me tell you—it’s been eye-opening!
Recently, I stumbled upon this book called “The Dark Night of the Soul” by St. John of the Cross. Sounds intense, right? It totally is! St. John talks about this journey where the soul goes through tough times to find a deeper connection with God. It’s like he’s describing these dark times we all go through, but how they can actually lead to something amazing and spiritual.
One thing that’s really stuck with me is how he talks about longing for God’s presence. It’s like that feeling when you really miss someone, but instead of a person, it’s this deep spiritual connection you’re longing for. I’ve started to see how even tough times can be part of this journey towards finding peace and purpose.
And then there’s Jesus. Man, his teachings are mind-blowing. He talks about love, forgiveness, and seeing the Kingdom of God in everything around us. It’s not just about believing; it’s about really living those teachings every day. That’s been a challenge for me, but also super rewarding when I see how it changes how I treat people and handle tough situations.
And let’s not forget the miracles! Whether it’s Jesus healing someone or just those little everyday miracles, they remind me that there’s something bigger than us out there. It’s like a reminder to keep faith and stay open to the wonder of life.
So yeah, this journey into spirituality has been a rollercoaster, but in the best way possible. It’s helped me see life in a whole new light and given me tools to navigate the ups and downs. I’m still learning and growing, but isn’t that what life’s all about?
What about you? Have you ever had moments where you felt a deep spiritual connection or experienced something that made you question everything? I’d love to hear your thoughts and stories too! Let’s keep this conversation going.
Until next time, stay curious and keep exploring!
#ChristianMysticism #DeepConnection #DivineLove #faith #forgiveness #GenZ #gratitude #HighSchoolStudent #InnerPeace #Inspirational #JesusChrist #JourneyOfFaith #lifeLessons #Millennials #mindfulness #Miracles #PersonalJourney #reflection #SpiritualAwakening #SpiritualExploration #spiritualGrowth #SpiritualInsights #spirituality #StJohnOfTheCross #YoungAdults #YouthPerspective
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St. John of the Cross Novena, Day 6: Prayer
Reading
Whoever flees prayer flees all that is good.
Sayings of Light and Love, 169
Scripture
When evil men advance against me
to devour my flesh,
they, my opponents, my enemies,
are the ones who stumble and fall.When evil men advance against me
to devour my flesh,
they, my opponents, my enemies,
are the ones who stumble and fall.Though an army pitched camp against me,
my heart would not fear;
though war were waged against me,
my trust would still be firm.One thing I ask of Yahweh,
one thing I seek:
to live in the house of Yahweh
all the days of my life,
to enjoy the sweetness of Yahweh
and to consult him in his Temple.For he shelters me under his awning
in times of trouble;
he hides me deep in his tent,
sets me high on a rock.And now my head is held high
over the enemies who surround me,
in his tent I will offer
exultant sacrifice.I will sing, I will play for Yahweh!
Yahweh, hear my voice as I cry!
Pity me! Answer me!
My heart has said of you,
“Seek his face.”
Yahweh, I do seek your face;
do not hide your face from me.Do not repulse your servant in anger;
you are my help.
Never leave me, never desert me,
God, my savior!
If my father and mother desert me,
Yahweh will care for me still.Yahweh, teach me your way,
lead me in the path of integrity
because of my enemies;
do not abandon me to the will of my foes—
false witnesses have risen against me,
and breathe out violence.This I believe: I shall see the goodness of Yahweh,
in the land of the living.
Put your hope in Yahweh, be strong, let your heart be bold,
put your hope in Yahweh.Meditation
Let’s have a virtual show of hands: who among us has had an experience where God seemed to be hiding or even absent when we pray? Who among us has ever prayed, “God, where are you?” Has anyone ever said, “prayer isn’t working for me, God doesn’t care about me, I give up”? Has anyone ever experienced dryness in prayer, where you can’t feel anything anymore? Or, has someone ever discovered one day that they drifted away from the fervor of the practice of prayer they once had?
If you answered, “yes” to any one or more of these questions, you are in good company. All of us experience difficulties in prayer. In yesterday’s fifth novena meditation, we read one of St. Teresa’s accounts where she experienced difficulties in prayer; she was going through a moment of tribulation and the practice of prayer that usually brought her encouragement and comfort simply didn’t work.
Growing in friendship with God is a lifelong journey along the way of perfection. There will be many moments when we will stumble and fall. Ask any old friend of God and they will testify to this age-old fact of the spiritual life. The most important lesson that those who travel the way of perfection (or the Little Way of St. Thérèse) must learn is that it’s not a matter of how frequently or infrequently we fall, it’s how quickly we get up again and keep moving along the way. Saint Teresa herself says in the Interior Castle’s Second Mansion (IC II), “if you should at times fall don’t become discouraged and stop striving to advance. For even from this fall God will draw out good.” (IC II:9)
“Don’t become discouraged” is advice we read and hear often in Carmelite spirituality. Here’s what St. Elizabeth of the Trinity said to her younger sister a few months before Elizabeth died:
Darling little sister, you must cross out the word “discouragement” from your dictionary of love; the more you feel your weakness, your difficulty in recollecting yourself, and the more hidden the Master seems, the more you must rejoice, for then you are giving to Him, and, when one loves, isn’t it better to give than to receive? God said to Saint Paul: “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor 12:9), and the great saint understood this so well that he cried out: “For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Cor 12:10). What does it matter what we feel; He, He is the Unchanging One, He who never changes: He loves you today as He loved you yesterday and will love you tomorrow. (Letter 298)
St. Teresa was more blunt when writing about those facing discouragement in prayer, especially beginners in prayer:
Ah, my Lord! Your help is necessary here; without it one can do nothing (cf. Jn 15:5). In Your mercy do not consent to allow this soul to suffer deception and give up what was begun. (IC II:6)
It will seem to you that you are truly determined to undergo exterior trials, provided that God favors you interiorly. His Majesty knows best what is suitable for us. There’s no need for us to be advising Him about what He should give us, for He can rightly tell us that we don’t know what we’re asking for (cf. Mt 20:22). The whole aim of any person who is beginning prayer—and don’t forget this, because it’s very, very important—should be that he work and prepare himself with determination and every possible effort to bring his will into conformity with God’s will. (IC II:8)
We can have all the determination in the world to be devout, faithful, and persistent in our prayer, but our own devotion, fidelity, and persistence alone are not sufficient. We need the Lord’s guidance. Here, St. Teresa refers to acquiring spiritual directors, but her point is more valid than ever:
Provided that we don’t give up, the Lord will guide everything for our benefit, even though we may not find someone to teach us. There is no other remedy for this evil of giving up prayer than to begin again; otherwise the soul will gradually lose more each day—and please God that it will understand this fact. (IC II:10)
“Provided that we don’t give up,” Teresa writes. “Whoever flees prayer,” St. John of the Cross echoes, “flees all that is good.”
What is this “all that is good” to which John refers?
This time, we will let him answer the question, by sharing an excerpt from his 8 July 1589 letter to Madre Leonor de San Gabriel in Córdoba. A companion of St. Teresa in founding the monasteries of Beas and Sevilla, Mother Leonor was feeling alone in Córdoba without the companionship of Teresa and the sisters she knew and loved the best. St. John of the Cross wrote a letter to encourage her in her new mission as prioress:
Jesus be in your soul, my daughter in Christ.
Thank you for your letter. And I thank God for having desired to use you in this foundation, since His Majesty has done this in order to bring you greater profit. The more he wants to give, the more he makes us desire—even to the point of leaving us empty in order to fill us with goods. You will be repaid for the goods (the love of your sisters) that you leave behind in Sevilla. Since the immense blessings of God can only enter and fit into an empty and solitary heart, the Lord wants you to be alone. For he truly loves you with the desire of being himself all your company. And Your Reverence will have to strive carefully to be content only with his companionship, so you might discover in it every happiness. Even though the soul may be in heaven, it will not be happy if it does not conform its will to this. And we will be unhappy with God, even though he is always present with us, if our heart is not alone, but attached to something else. (Letter 15)
“He loves you today as He loved you yesterday and will love you tomorrow,” St. Elizabeth wrote, echoing the sentiments of St. John of the Cross. But if God is “always present with us”, how can we become present to God, so that our hearts are alone and not “attached to something else”?
Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection tells us what he did:
Thus, after offering myself entirely to God in atonement for my sins, I renounced for the sake of his love everything other than God, and I began to live as if only he and I existed in the world. Sometimes I considered myself before him as a miserable criminal at his judge’s feet, and at other times I regarded him in my heart as my Father, as my God. I adored him there as often as I could, keeping my mind in his holy presence and recalling him as many times as I was distracted. I had some trouble doing this exercise, but continued in spite of all the difficulties I encountered, without getting disturbed or anxious when I was involuntarily distracted. I was as faithful to this practice during my activities as I was during my periods of mental prayer, for at every moment, all the time, in the most intense periods of my work I banished and rid from my mind everything that was capable of taking the thought of God away from me (Letter 12).
Prayer
O St. John of the Cross
You were endowed by our Lord with the spirit of self-denial
and a love of the cross.
Obtain for us the grace to follow your example
that we may come to the eternal vision of the glory of God.O Saint of Christ’s redeeming cross
the road of life is dark and long.
Teach us always to be resigned to God’s holy will
in all the circumstances of our lives
and grant us the special favor
which we now ask of you.Mention your request
Above all, obtain for us the grace of final perseverance,
a holy and happy death and everlasting life with you
and all the saints in heaven.
Amen.Let’s continue in prayer
Day 1 — Self-trust
The Arrest of St John of the Cross
Day 2 — Self-giving
Day 3 — Cleansing
Day 4 — Walking in love
Day 5 — Trust
Day 6 — Prayer
Day 7 — Humility
Day 8 — Eternal Silence
Day 9 — Silent love
18th c. French
Oil on canvas, 1772 or 1777
Carmel of Pontoise
© Ministère de la Culture (France), Médiathèque de l’architecture et du patrimoine, Diffusion RMN-GP. Used by permission.The novena prayer was composed from approved sources by Professor Michael Ogunu, a member of the Discalced Carmelite Secular Order in Nigeria.
John of the Cross, St 1991, The Collected Works of St. John of the Cross, rev. edn, Kavanaugh, K & Rodriguez, O (trans.), ICS Publications, Washington DC.
Teresa of Avila, St 1985, The Collected Works of St. Teresa of Avila, Kavanaugh, K & Rodriguez, O (trans.), ICS Publications, Washington DC.
Elizabeth of the Trinity, S 2003, The Complete Works of Elizabeth of the Trinity volume 2: Letters from Carmel, Nash, A (trans.), ICS Publications, Washington DC.
Lawrence of the Resurrection, B; De Meester, C 1994, Writings and Conversations on the Practice of the Presence of God, translated from the French by Salvatore Sciurba, OCD, ICS Publications, Washington DC.
All scripture references in this novena are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America as accessed from the Bible Gateway website.
Don’t become discouraged and give up prayer, says St. John of the Cross. We offer varying novenas to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, as well as novenas to St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Sts. Louis and Zélie Martin, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, and St. Joseph.
#beginners #brotherLawrence #brotherLawrenceOfTheResurrection #determination #difficulty #discouragement #doctorOfTheChurch #dryness #elizabethCatez #fall #givingUp #godsWill #icsPublications #interiorCastle #johnOfTheCross #journey #letter #letters #loneliness #mentalPrayer #novena #practiceOfThePresenceOfGod #psalms #sabeth #sanJuanDeLaCruz #stElizabethOfTheTrinity #stJohnOfTheCross #stTeresa #stTeresaOfAvila #stTeresaOfJesus #stumble #teresa #way #willOfGod
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St. John of the Cross Novena, Day 5: Trust
Reading
In tribulation, immediately draw near to God with trust, and you will receive strength, enlightenment, and instruction.
Sayings of Light and Love, 66
Scripture
Have mercy on me, God, men crush me;
they fight me all day long and oppress me.
My foes crush me all day long,
for many fight proudly against me.When I fear, I will trust in you,
in God whose word I praise.
In God I trust, I shall not fear:
what can mortal man do to me?All day long they distort my words,
all their thought is to harm me.
They band together in ambush,
track me down and seek my life.You have kept an account of my wanderings;
you have kept a record of my tears;
are they not written in your book?
Then my foes will be put to flight
on the day that I call to you.This I know, that God is on my side.
In God, whose word I praise,
in the Lord, whose word I praise,
in God I trust; I shall not fear:
what can mortal man do to me?I am bound by the vows I have made you.
O God, I will offer you praise
for you rescued my soul from death,
you kept my feet from stumbling
that I may walk in the presence of God
and enjoy the light of the living.Meditation
Oh, blessed tribulation, that sure sign that God is madly in love with you.
Tribulation is a word that is no longer part of our daily vocabulary. It appears in word puzzles and still makes its way into Hollywood film scripts, although it sounds more appropriate coming from the lips of the revered British actor Charles Laughton, whose King Herod once posed the legendary rhetorical question: “Why does the prophet visit me with worse than the tribulations of Job?”
Saint Teresa of Jesus understood what Saint John of the Cross meant when he was writing about tribulation because she had seen her fair share of it in her lifetime. Here’s just one example from Testimony 53 written in Seville, 8 November 1575:
On the octave day of All Saints I spent two or three very troublesome days over the remembrance of my great sins and because of some fears of my being persecuted that had no foundation, except that false testimony was going to be raised [She had been falsely accused before the Inquisition of Seville]. And all the courage I usually have for suffering left me. Although I wanted to encourage myself, and I made acts and reflected that this suffering would be very beneficial to my soul, all these actions helped me little. For the fear didn’t go away, and what I felt was a vexing war. I chanced upon a letter in which my good Father [Jerome Gracián, Discalced Carmelite and Apostolic Visitor] refers to what St. Paul says, that God does not permit us to be tempted beyond what we can suffer (1 Cor 10:13). That comforted me a lot, but it wasn’t enough. Rather, the next day I became sorely afflicted in seeing I was without him, since I had no one to whom I could have recourse in this tribulation. It seemed to me I was living in great loneliness, and this loneliness increased when I saw that there was no one now but him who might give me comfort and that he had to be absent most of the time, which was a great torment to me.
On the next night, while reading in a book a saying of St. Paul which began to console me, I was thinking of how present our Lord had previously been to me, for He had so truly seemed to be the living God. While I was thinking about this, He appeared in an intellectual vision, very deep within me, as though on the side where the heart is, and said: “Here I am, but I want you to see what little you can do without Me.”
I felt reassured right away, and all my fears were gone. While I was at Matins that same night, the Lord, through an intellectual vision so intense it almost seemed to be an imaginative one, placed Himself in my arms as in the painting of the fifth agony. This vision caused me great fear. For it was so clear, and He was so close to me that I wondered if it was an illusion. He told me: “Don’t be surprised by this, for My Father is with your soul in an incomparably greater union.”
This vision has so remained up till now. What I said of our Lord lasted more than a month. Now it is gone.
Now, we may not be falsely accused before the Inquisition, but in our daily lives, we see plenty of tribulation. And Saint Teresa makes it clear that if we are seeking to make love our ambition, to grow in that untiring love of which St. John of the Cross speaks, then we will be blessed with tribulation.
Blessed with tribulation?
“It is clear that since God wants to lead those whom He greatly loves by the path of tribulation—and the more He loves them the greater the tribulation—there is no reason to think that He despises contemplatives, for with His own mouth He praises them and considers them His friends.” (Way 18:1)
But what if I don’t want to be a contemplative?
For the faithful, this truly is not an option if we desire to be united with Christ in heaven, where we will be contemplatives for all eternity! St. Paul writes, “and we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (2 Cor 3:18).
The Catechism reminds us:
Because of his transcendence, God cannot be seen as he is, unless he himself opens up his mystery to man’s immediate contemplation and gives him the capacity for it. The Church calls this contemplation of God in his heavenly glory “the beatific vision.”
Citing St. Cyprian, the Catechism continues:
How great will your glory and happiness be, to be allowed to see God, to be honored with sharing the joy of salvation and eternal light with Christ your Lord and God, . . . to delight in the joy of immortality in the Kingdom of heaven with the righteous and God’s friends. (CCC 1028)
To be able to contemplate Christ for all eternity, the tribulation is worth it.
We notice that a great Saint and Doctor of the Church like Our Holy Mother Teresa was not immune from tribulation and anxiety. She was suffering terribly: there were “very troublesome days” and fears of being persecuted. She had lost her courage, and every remedy, every action that normally helped in past situations didn’t help at all. She was stuck in her fears and left with what she calls a guerra desabrida… a rather unsavory war—fruitless, vexing, and pointless. Even reading a letter from the priest who meant more to her than any other friar in the world couldn’t console her; his advice was to read St. Paul, but she admitted that it “comforted me a lot, but it wasn’t enough.”
Poor St. Teresa, she was really in emotional distress and in a spiritual bind. The next day she became even more upset because Father Gracián wasn’t there to encourage and console her in her anxiety. “I had no one to whom I could have recourse in this tribulation” and for her, the loneliness seemed to be the worst part.
St. John of the Cross says that it’s in times like these that we must “immediately draw near to God with trust” and that is exactly what St. Teresa did. She didn’t give up praying, seeking, and hoping, and she didn’t abandon God. Quite the opposite: she continued to draw near to God, even though He seemed distant or hiding. It seems that she may have had difficulty praying with peace, so she turned to spiritual reading instead.
Now, the Lord made himself known to St. Teresa at that moment through a mystical experience. However, that may not necessarily be the path the Lord chooses for each one of us. What St. John of the Cross explains is that if we draw near to God with trust, then we will receive “strength, enlightenment, and instruction.”
St. Elizabeth of the Trinity gives the following advice to ordinary folks like you and I for how best to draw near to God when troubled or anxious in those moments that St. John and St. Teresa called “tribulation”:
You must build a little cell within your soul as I do. Remember that God is there and enter it from time to time; when you feel nervous or you’re unhappy, quickly seek refuge there and tell the Master all about it.
Ah, if you got to know Him a little, prayer wouldn’t bore you anymore; to me it seems to be rest, relaxation. We come quite simply to the One we love, stay close to Him like a little child in the arms of its mother, and we let our heart go (Letter 123).
Prayer
O St. John of the Cross
You were endowed by our Lord with the spirit of self-denial
and a love of the cross.
Obtain for us the grace to follow your example
that we may come to the eternal vision of the glory of God.O Saint of Christ’s redeeming cross
the road of life is dark and long.
Teach us always to be resigned to God’s holy will
in all the circumstances of our lives
and grant us the special favor
which we now ask of you.Mention your request
Above all, obtain for us the grace of final perseverance,
a holy and happy death and everlasting life with you
and all the saints in heaven.
Amen.Let’s continue in prayer
Day 1 — Self-trust
The Escape of St John of the Cross
Day 2 — Self-giving
Day 3 — Cleansing
Day 4 — Walking in love
Day 5 — Trust
Day 6 — Prayer
Day 7 — Humility
Day 8 — Eternal Silence
Day 9 — Silent love
18th c. French
Oil on canvas, 1768
Carmel of Pontoise
© Ministère de la Culture (France), Médiathèque de l’architecture et du patrimoine, Diffusion RMN-GP. Used by permission.The novena prayer was composed from approved sources by Professor Michael Ogunu, a member of the Discalced Carmelite Secular Order in Nigeria.
John of the Cross, St 1991, The Collected Works of St. John of the Cross, rev. edn, Kavanaugh, K & Rodriguez, O (trans.), ICS Publications, Washington DC.
Teresa of Avila, St 1985, The Collected Works of St. Teresa of Avila, Kavanaugh, K & Rodriguez, O (trans.), ICS Publications, Washington DC.
Elizabeth of the Trinity, S 2003, The Complete Works of Elizabeth of the Trinity volume 2: Letters from Carmel, Nash, A (trans.), ICS Publications, Washington DC.
All scripture references in this novena are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America as accessed from the Bible Gateway website.
Don’t become discouraged and give up prayer, says St. John of the Cross. We offer varying novenas to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, as well as novenas to St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Sts. Louis and Zélie Martin, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, and St. Joseph.
#anxiety #doctorOfTheChurch #elizabethCatez #enlightenment #icsPublications #inquisition #instruction #johnOfTheCross #letter #letters #loneliness #novena #persecution #psalms #sabeth #sanJuanDeLaCruz #stElizabethOfTheTrinity #stJohnOfTheCross #stTeresa #stTeresaOfAvila #stTeresaOfJesus #strength #teresa #tribulation #troubles #trust #wayOfPerfection #worries
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St. John of the Cross Novena, Day 1: Self-trust
Reading
Those who trust in themselves are worse than the devil.
Sayings of Light and Love, 166
Scripture
He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised others: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank thee that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for every one who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Meditation
“Jesus told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous,” the Gospel tells us. And let’s notice that the conclusion of the parable is a mirror image of the song that Jesus’ own Mother sang in the home of her cousin Elizabeth: Deposuit potentes de sede, et exaltavit humiles (“He has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate,” Lk 1:52).
Another interesting item to note in the parable is the conscience of the tax collector, who was painfully aware of his sinfulness. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) states that a “well-formed conscience is upright and truthful”, thus the “education of conscience is indispensable for human beings who are subjected to negative influences and tempted by sin to prefer their own judgment and to reject authoritative teachings.” (CCC 1783) This education is “a lifelong task.” (CCC 1784)
So how is the conscience formed?
In the formation of conscience the Word of God is the light for our path, we must assimilate it in faith and prayer and put it into practice. We must also examine our conscience before the Lord’s Cross. We are assisted by the gifts of the Holy Spirit, aided by the witness or advice of others and guided by the authoritative teaching of the Church. (CCC 1785)
If self-trust is worse than the devil, i.e. “Satan, the Evil One, the angel who opposes God…. the one who ‘throws himself across’ God’s plan and his work of salvation accomplished in Christ” (CCC 2851) then the virtue to conquer that vice would be to trust in God.
When we say ‘God’ we confess a constant, unchangeable being, always the same, faithful and just, without any evil. It follows that we must necessarily accept his words and have complete faith in him and acknowledge his authority. He is almighty, merciful, and infinitely beneficent. Who could not place all hope in him? Who could not love him when contemplating the treasures of goodness and love he has poured out on us? (CCC 2086)
St. Thérèse of Lisieux, one of St. John of the Cross’ foremost disciples responds to these rhetorical questions in these, her last written words:
It is not in the first place, but in the last place that I start out; instead of getting ahead with the Pharisee, I repeat, full of trust, the humble prayer of the tax collector; but especially I imitate Magdalene’s attitude, her amazing or rather her daring love that charms the Heart of Jesus, captivates my very own heart. Yes, I feel it, even if I had on my conscience all the sins that can be committed, I would go, heartbroken with repentance, and throw myself into Jesus’ arms, because I know just how much He cherishes the prodigal child who has returned to Him. It is not because God, in His gracious, prevenient mercy, has preserved my soul from mortal sin that I stand up and go to Him in trust and love… (Ms C 36v-37r).
Prayer
O St. John of the Cross
You were endowed by our Lord with the spirit of self-denial
and a love of the cross.
Obtain for us the grace to follow your example
that we may come to the eternal vision of the glory of God.O Saint of Christ’s redeeming cross
the road of life is dark and long.
Teach us always to be resigned to God’s holy will
in all the circumstances of our lives
and grant us the special favor
which we now ask of you.Mention your request
Above all, obtain for us the grace of final perseverance,
a holy and happy death and everlasting life with you
and all the saints in heaven.
Amen.Let’s continue in prayer
Day 1 — Self-trust
Day 2 — Self-giving
Day 3 — Cleansing
Day 4 — Walking in love
Day 5 — Trust
Day 6 — Prayer
Day 7 — Humility
Day 8 — Eternal Silence
Day 9 — Silent love
Image of St. John of the Cross painted by Sr. Genevieve of the Holy Face, OCD (Céline Martin) | Photo credit: Discalced CarmelitesThe novena prayer was composed from approved sources by Professor Michael Ogunu, a member of the Discalced Carmelite Secular Order in Nigeria.
All scripture references in this novena are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America as accessed from the Bible Gateway website.
Don’t become discouraged and give up prayer, says St. John of the Cross. We offer varying novenas to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, as well as novenas to St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Sts. Louis and Zélie Martin, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, and St. Joseph.
#conscience #devil #examinationOfConscience #humble #johnOfTheCross #littleTherese #manuscript #novena #pharisee #prevenientMercy #pride #sanJuanDeLaCruz #satan #selfRighteous #stJohnOfTheCross #stTherese #stThereseOfLisieux #stThereseOfTheChildJesus #taxCollector #trust