Memorial of Saint John of the Cross, Priest and Doctor of the Church
Lectionary: 186
In those days,
like a fire there appeared the prophet Elijah
whose words were as a flaming furnace.
Their staff of bread he shattered,
in his zeal he reduced them to straits;
By the Lord’s word he shut up the heavens
and three times brought down fire.
How awesome are you, Elijah, in your wondrous deeds!
Whose glory is equal to yours?
You were taken aloft in a whirlwind of fire,
in a chariot with fiery horses.
You were destined, it is written, in time to come
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.
Blessed is he who shall have seen you
and who falls asleep in your friendship.
like a fire there appeared the prophet Elijah
whose words were as a flaming furnace.
Their staff of bread he shattered,
in his zeal he reduced them to straits;
By the Lord’s word he shut up the heavens
and three times brought down fire.
How awesome are you, Elijah, in your wondrous deeds!
Whose glory is equal to yours?
You were taken aloft in a whirlwind of fire,
in a chariot with fiery horses.
You were destined, it is written, in time to come
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.
Blessed is he who shall have seen you
and who falls asleep in your friendship.
Responsorial PsalmPS 80:2AC AND 3B, 15-16,
18-19
R. (4) Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your
face and we shall be saved.
O shepherd of Israel, hearken,
From your throne upon the cherubim, shine forth.
Rouse your power.
R. Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.
Once again, O LORD of hosts,
look down from heaven, and see;
Take care of this vine,
and protect what your right hand has planted
the son of man whom you yourself made strong.
R. Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.
May your help be with the man of your right hand,
with the son of man whom you yourself made strong.
Then we will no more withdraw from you;
give us new life, and we will call upon your name.
R. Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.
O shepherd of Israel, hearken,
From your throne upon the cherubim, shine forth.
Rouse your power.
R. Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.
Once again, O LORD of hosts,
look down from heaven, and see;
Take care of this vine,
and protect what your right hand has planted
the son of man whom you yourself made strong.
R. Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.
May your help be with the man of your right hand,
with the son of man whom you yourself made strong.
Then we will no more withdraw from you;
give us new life, and we will call upon your name.
R. Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.
GospelMT 17:9A, 10-13
As they were coming
down from the mountain,
the disciples asked Jesus,
“Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”
He said in reply, “Elijah will indeed come and restore all things;
but I tell you that Elijah has already come,
and they did not recognize him but did to him whatever they pleased.
So also will the Son of Man suffer at their hands.”
Then the disciples understood
that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.
the disciples asked Jesus,
“Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”
He said in reply, “Elijah will indeed come and restore all things;
but I tell you that Elijah has already come,
and they did not recognize him but did to him whatever they pleased.
So also will the Son of Man suffer at their hands.”
Then the disciples understood
that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.
Meditation: "Elijah must first come"
God gives signs to show what he is about to do. John the Baptist
is one such sign, who pointed to Jesus and prepared the way for his coming.
John fulfilled the essential task of all the prophets: to be fingers pointing
to Jesus Christ. John is the last and greatest prophet of the old kingdom, the
old covenant. The Jews expected that when the Messiah would come, Elijah would
appear to announce his presence. John fills the role of Elijah and prepares the
way for the coming of Jesus Christ by preaching a baptism of repentance and renewal.
As watchful servants, we, too must prepare for the Lord's coming again by
turning away from sin and from everything that would keep us from pursuing his
will. Are you eager to do God's will and are you prepared to meet the Lord
Jesus when he returns in glory?
"Lord Jesus, stir my zeal for your righteousness and for
your kingdom. Free me from complacency and from compromising with the ways of
sin and worldliness that I may be wholeheartedly devoted to you and to your
kingdom."
 Bethlehem and the Cross |
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Memorial of Saint
John of the Cross, priest and doctor of the Church
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Father Walter Schu,
LC
Matthew 17:9a, 10-13
As they were coming down from the mountain,
the disciples asked Jesus, “Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come
first?” He said in reply, “Elijah will indeed come and restore all things;
but I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him
but did to him whatever they pleased. So also will the Son of Man suffer at
their hands.” Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of
John the Baptist.
Introductory Prayer: Lord, your disciples sincerely tried to
comprehend your identity and believe in you. I come before you today with my
doubts and problems, hoping to find in this prayer an answer to my deepest aspirations.
I want to believe with unwavering faith, and I want to love you with a devout
heart. I offer you this time of prayer as my token of gratitude for all I
have received from you.
Petition: Mary, help me to embrace God’s will in my
life, just as Christ embraced the Father’s plan for our salvation.
1. John the Baptist as Elijah: Once again the Gospel refers to John the
Baptist as the one whose role is to prepare us for the One who is to come.
Through the prophet Malachi, the Jews’ expectation of the return of Elijah,
who will prepare the way for the promised Messiah, has grown. But they have
come to view him as a figure of great power, someone who will sweep men away.
So they fail to recognize Elijah’s presence in the person of John the
Baptist, whose only power is that of the Spirit of God, calling all people to
conversion of heart in order to receive the Christ. How many times in my life
do I fail to recognize the presence of Christ in my life because I’m seeking
something other than Christ’s promises to his followers? Christ doesn’t offer
an easy path of comfort and consolations.
2. Bethlehem and the Cross: Why did Christ become a helpless baby at
Bethlehem? Why did he take on a fragile human body? Precisely so he could
suffer for us in order to redeem us. What does that mean for our lives as
Christians? It means nothing less than the fact that suffering is a gift from
God. It is the Father’s gentle caress, molding us into the image of his Son.
The cross is the source of our fruitfulness, not only in our personal
spiritual growth, but also in the mission to win graces for others, for all
of the souls God has mysteriously entrusted to our care.
3. Obedience unto Death: Christ’s desire to embrace suffering rose
from his loving obedience to his Father’s plan, without condition or limit.
This loving obedience is what gives suffering its redemptive value. From the
moment of his birth at Bethlehem, Christ shows us what it means to obey with
love. Bethlehem is a school of obedience. In Bethlehem, Christ teaches us
that only a loving obedience frees, only loving obedience redeems and
sanctifies, only loving obedience enriches. Loving obedience alone saves,
loving obedience alone frees us from sin and loving obedience alone pleases
God. Let us embrace the cross of obedience in the challenging circumstances
of our daily lives, in the trials brought by the passing of years, in the
sorrow that afflicts us when God calls our loved ones back to him. Loving
obedience is the path to holiness, the way to the Father’s house.
Conversation with Christ: Thank you, Lord, for giving us a school of
loving obedience at Bethlehem, throughout your life and in your death on the
cross. Help me to embrace suffering like you did and to be confident in its
power to make me holy and win graces for souls.
Resolution: I will seek to recognize God’s presence in
my day by patiently welcoming the suffering and trials he permits, so he can
bring about a greater good.
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SATURDAY, DECEMBER 14, MATTHEW 17:9a, 10-13
(Sirach 48:1-4, 9-11; Psalm 80)
(Sirach 48:1-4, 9-11; Psalm 80)
KEY VERSE: "Elijah will indeed come and restore all things" (v 11).
READING: In Matthew's account of the Transfiguration, Jesus summoned his disciples "to the mountain" to reveal himself as the one who had full authority "in heaven and on earth" (Mt 28:16-18). The mountain was a unique place of God's revelation, such as Moses who received the law on Mount Sinai Ex 20:1-17, and Elijah, who defended the supremacy of Gods' covenant against the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel (1 Kgs 18:19-39). On the Mount of the Transfiguration, both Elijah and Moses appeared alongside Jesus revealing that he was the new prophet and liberator. After the vision, as Jesus and his disciples came down the mountain, Jesus' disciples asked him about the belief that Elijah would return before the coming of the Messiah (Mal 3:1, 23). Jesus answered that John the Baptist had already come in the prophetic tradition of Elijah. John's preaching against those who perverted the moral teaching of God had fulfilled the expectation of Elijah's return.
REFLECTING: What is the moral corruption in my community that I must oppose?
PRAYING: Lord Jesus, turn my heart to the truth that you teach.
MEMORIAL OF JOHN OF THE CROSS, PRIEST AND
DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH
John was born in poverty, and he cared for
the poor in the hospital in Medina. He became a Lay Carmelite brother at age
21, though he lived stricter than their Rule. John studied at Salamanca, and
was ordained a Carmelite priest at age 25. Persuaded by Teresa of Avila to
begin the Discalced, or barefoot, reform within the Carmelite Order, he took
the name John of the Cross. His reforms did not set well with some of his
brothers, and he was imprisoned, escaping after nine months. Eventually, John's
reforms revitalized the Order. John of the Cross was a great contemplative and
spiritual writer. He was proclaimed Doctor of the Church by Pope Pius XI on
August 24, 1926. He is also known as Doctor of Mystical Theology.
Lord, make us turn to you, let us
see your face and we shall be saved
His word flared like a torch.Elijah’s marvellous deeds and the stirring stories about him have had a strong appeal to the religious imaginations of generations. He was said to have been taken up to heaven in a chariot, in a whirlwind of fire. He was expected to be sent back to earth to prepare the way for the Lord. John the Baptist is seen as Elijah’s equal, foreshadowing all the great hopes associated with the memories of Elijah and the promises of God for the people of Israel. Just as Elijah found God not in the hurricane or the earthquake but in the ‘still small voice’, so when Jesus comes we discover that our most cherished hopes are met in unexpected ways and that God is different even from our wildest imaginings.
December 14
St. John of the Cross
(1541-1591)
St. John of the Cross
(1541-1591)
John is a saint because his life was a heroic effort to live up to
his name: “of the Cross.” The folly of the cross came to full realization in
time. “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross,
and follow me” (Mark 8:34b) is the story of John’s life. The Paschal Mystery—through
death to life—strongly marks John as reformer, mystic-poet and
theologian-priest.
Ordained
a Carmelite priest at 25 (1567), John met Teresa of Jesus (October 15) and like
her vowed himself to the primitive Rule of the Carmelites. As partner with
Teresa and in his own right, John engaged in the work of reform, and came to
experience the price of reform: increasing opposition, misunderstanding,
persecution, imprisonment. He came to know the cross acutely—to experience the
dying of Jesus—as he sat month after month in his dark, damp, narrow cell with
only his God!
Yet, the
paradox! In this dying of imprisonment John came to life, uttering poetry. In
the darkness of the dungeon, John’s spirit came into the Light. There are many
mystics, many poets; John is unique as mystic-poet, expressing in his
prison-cross the ecstasy of mystical union with God in the Spiritual
Canticle.
But as
agony leads to ecstasy, so John had his Ascent to Mt. Carmel, as he
named it in his prose masterpiece. As man-Christian-Carmelite, he experienced
in himself this purifying ascent; as spiritual director, he sensed it in
others; as psychologist-theologian, he described and analyzed it in his prose
writings. His prose works are outstanding in underscoring the cost of
discipleship, the path of union with God: rigorous discipline, abandonment,
purification. Uniquely and strongly John underlines the gospel paradox: The
cross leads to resurrection, agony to ecstasy, darkness to light, abandonment
to possession, denial to self to union with God. If you want to save your life,
you must lose it. John is truly “of the Cross.” He died at 49—a life short, but
full.
Comment:
John in his life and writings has a crucial word for us today. We tend to be rich, soft, comfortable. We shrink even from words like self-denial, mortification, purification, asceticism, discipline. We run from the cross. John’s message—like the gospel—is loud and clear: Don’t—if you really want to live!
John in his life and writings has a crucial word for us today. We tend to be rich, soft, comfortable. We shrink even from words like self-denial, mortification, purification, asceticism, discipline. We run from the cross. John’s message—like the gospel—is loud and clear: Don’t—if you really want to live!
Quote:
Thomas Merton said of John: "Just as we can never separate asceticism from mysticism, so in St. John of the Cross we find darkness and light, suffering and joy, sacrifice and love united together so closely that they seem at times to be identified."
Thomas Merton said of John: "Just as we can never separate asceticism from mysticism, so in St. John of the Cross we find darkness and light, suffering and joy, sacrifice and love united together so closely that they seem at times to be identified."
In John's words:
"Never was fount so clear,
undimmed and bright;
From it alone, I know proceeds all light
although 'tis night."
"Never was fount so clear,
undimmed and bright;
From it alone, I know proceeds all light
although 'tis night."
Patron Saint of:
Mystics
Mystics
LECTIO DIVINA:
MATTHEW 17,10-13
Lectio:
Saturday,
December 14, 2013
2nd Week of Advent
1) Opening prayer
Lord our God,
let us never become indifferent
to the ardent message
which your Son speaks to us in the gospel
When we have become inattentive and uninvolved,
send us again prophets to wake us up
and to make us attentive again
to make your kingdom among us a reality
of love of you and of people,
of justice and serving love.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
2) Gospel Reading - Matthew 17, 10-13
And the disciples put this question to him, 'Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?'
He replied, 'Elijah is indeed coming, and he will set everything right again; however, I tell you that Elijah has come already and they did not recognise him but treated him as they pleased; and the Son of man will suffer similarly at their hands.'
Then the disciples understood that he was speaking of John the Baptist.
3) Reflection
• The disciples have just seen Moses and Elijah before Jesus in the Transfiguration on the mountain (Mt 17, 3). In general, people believed that Elijah had to return to prepare the coming of the Kingdom. Prophet Malachi said: “Look, I shall send you the prophet Elijah before the great and awesome Day of Yahweh comes. He will reconcile parents to their children and children to their parents, to forestall my putting the country under the curse of destruction!” (Mal 3, 23-24; cf. Eccl. 48, 10). The disciples want to know: What does the teaching of the Doctors of the Law mean, when they say that Elijah has to come before?” Because Jesus, the Messiah, was already there, had already arrived, and Elijah had not come as yet. Which is the value of this teaching of the return of Elijah?
• Jesus answers: “Elijah has already come and they have not recognized him; rather, they have treated him as they have wanted. In the same way, they will also make the Son of Man suffer”. Then the Disciples understood that Jesus was speaking of John the Baptist.
• In that situation of Roman domination which disintegrated the clan and the familiar living together, people expected that Elijah would return to reconstruct the community: to reconcile the parents to their children and the children to their parents. This was the great hope of the people. Today also, the neo-liberal system of communism disintegrates the families and promotes the masses which destroy life.
• To reconstruct and remake the social fabric and the community living of the families is dangerous because it undermines the basis of the system of domination. This is why John the Baptist was killed. He had a project to reform human living together (cf. Lk 3, 7-14). He carried out the mission of Elijah (Lk 1, 17). This is why he was killed.
• Jesus continues the same mission of John: to reconstruct the life in community. Because God is Father, we are all brothers and sisters. Jesus joins together two loves: love toward God and love toward neighbour and makes them visible in the form of living together. This is why, like John, he was put to death. This is why Jesus, the Son of Man, will be condemned to death.
4) Personal questions
• Placing myself in the position of the disciples: does the ideology of consumerism have power over me?
• Placing myself in the position of Jesus: Do I have the force to react and to create a new human way of living together?
5) Concluding Prayer
May your help be with the man of your right hand,
with the son of man whom you yourself made strong.
Then we will no more withdraw from you;
give us new life, and we will call upon your name. (Ps 80)
Lord our God,
let us never become indifferent
to the ardent message
which your Son speaks to us in the gospel
When we have become inattentive and uninvolved,
send us again prophets to wake us up
and to make us attentive again
to make your kingdom among us a reality
of love of you and of people,
of justice and serving love.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
2) Gospel Reading - Matthew 17, 10-13
And the disciples put this question to him, 'Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?'
He replied, 'Elijah is indeed coming, and he will set everything right again; however, I tell you that Elijah has come already and they did not recognise him but treated him as they pleased; and the Son of man will suffer similarly at their hands.'
Then the disciples understood that he was speaking of John the Baptist.
3) Reflection
• The disciples have just seen Moses and Elijah before Jesus in the Transfiguration on the mountain (Mt 17, 3). In general, people believed that Elijah had to return to prepare the coming of the Kingdom. Prophet Malachi said: “Look, I shall send you the prophet Elijah before the great and awesome Day of Yahweh comes. He will reconcile parents to their children and children to their parents, to forestall my putting the country under the curse of destruction!” (Mal 3, 23-24; cf. Eccl. 48, 10). The disciples want to know: What does the teaching of the Doctors of the Law mean, when they say that Elijah has to come before?” Because Jesus, the Messiah, was already there, had already arrived, and Elijah had not come as yet. Which is the value of this teaching of the return of Elijah?
• Jesus answers: “Elijah has already come and they have not recognized him; rather, they have treated him as they have wanted. In the same way, they will also make the Son of Man suffer”. Then the Disciples understood that Jesus was speaking of John the Baptist.
• In that situation of Roman domination which disintegrated the clan and the familiar living together, people expected that Elijah would return to reconstruct the community: to reconcile the parents to their children and the children to their parents. This was the great hope of the people. Today also, the neo-liberal system of communism disintegrates the families and promotes the masses which destroy life.
• To reconstruct and remake the social fabric and the community living of the families is dangerous because it undermines the basis of the system of domination. This is why John the Baptist was killed. He had a project to reform human living together (cf. Lk 3, 7-14). He carried out the mission of Elijah (Lk 1, 17). This is why he was killed.
• Jesus continues the same mission of John: to reconstruct the life in community. Because God is Father, we are all brothers and sisters. Jesus joins together two loves: love toward God and love toward neighbour and makes them visible in the form of living together. This is why, like John, he was put to death. This is why Jesus, the Son of Man, will be condemned to death.
4) Personal questions
• Placing myself in the position of the disciples: does the ideology of consumerism have power over me?
• Placing myself in the position of Jesus: Do I have the force to react and to create a new human way of living together?
5) Concluding Prayer
May your help be with the man of your right hand,
with the son of man whom you yourself made strong.
Then we will no more withdraw from you;
give us new life, and we will call upon your name. (Ps 80)
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