St John of the Cross

 "The Lord is gracious and merciful; slow to anger, and of great kindness." Ps 145.1

St John of the Cross was a very young man when St Teresa of Avila saw qualities in him he could never have seen himself. Bright and insightful, an artist and song writer, above all John was drawn to the mystical path in the spiritual life and was not afraid of the dark night to which he was called. Teresa knew John was different and although she was thirty years older than John, she wrote, "He was so good that I, at least, could have learned much more from him than he from me."

John of the Cross was destined to be like Elijah the prophet, a fire and a flaming furnace of God's love. When he died at 49 he had helped found, despite enormous opposition from his own Carmelite brothers, many monasteries of discalced Carmelites who led an intense life of prayer and penance while also being hugely effective apostolic ministers, writers and preachers. The poet, Jessica Powers, shortly before she entered the Carmelites herself, wrote of John's books:

Out of what door that came ajar in heaven

       drifted this starry manna down to me,

       to the dilated mouth both hunger given

       and all satiety?

       Who bore at midnight to my very dwelling

       the gift of this imperishable food?

       my famished spirit with its fragrance filling,

       its savor certitude.

       The mind and heart ask, and the soul replies

       what store is heaped on these bare shelves of mine?

       The crumbs of the immortal delicacies

       fall with precise design.

       Mercy grows tall with the least heart enlightened,

       and I, so long a fosterling of night,

       here feast upon immeasurably sweetened

       wafers of light.

Today, ask God to let you see with God's own eyes.

What keeps you from a more intense prayer life?

Gaudete Sunday

 "I rejoice heartily in the LORD, in my God is the joy of my soul." Is 61:10

Even in the midst of a Global Pandemic, Pope Francis keeps encouraging believers in the Good News to be joyful, to remember all that God has done within us, for us and around us. Unless we are joyful, he warns, the power the Gospel will not impact others or attract them to know the source of our joy, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

Today we celebrate Gaudete Sunday, a small break from the penance to which Advent calls us. Gaudete simply means rejoice because the Lord is near, the Christ promised by God long ago continues to walk, live, suffer and die with and for us. It is a gentle Sunday that reminds us to think of someone who brought joy to our lives and in their memory, to ask for the gift of joy, not for ourselves but for others

Today, decide to be joyful and offer those with whom you live and know you best to lift up their eyes and hearts to the heavens. Jesus Christ is near.

Who or what helps you to be joyful and Spirit filled?

Our Lady of Guadalupe

 A careful, meditation on the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe is very revealing. Mary appears as a shy, pregnant, peasant woman with bare feet.  Her hands are folded in petition like ours would be in the presence of God and an angel holds her up as an icon of devotion.

Every time I look at this image I think of the hundreds of young women I have met in the developing world. Often too timid to look in your eye, they speak softly and always with respect. More important, they answer questions directly and with few words. These women amaze me not only because many of them have good educations and have contributed to their communities with great generosity, but because they do everything without drawing attention to themselves. 

Our Lady of Guadalupe is a woman from the developing world who identifies totally with those she has come to address and lift up, but she also challenges us not to take ourselves too seriously. She is a disciple of her own son and as such reminds us to follow him with humility and passion. Together, her image suggests, we are held up by angels, making our cause great and our voice important.

Today, walk humbly before the Lord and ask for guidance.

Has a quiet, unselfconscious woman ever touched your heart?

God's Foolishness

 “To what shall I compare the people of this generation? What are they like? They are like children who sit in the marketplace and call to one another, ‘We played the flute for you, but you did not dance. We sang a dirge, but you did not weep.’" Mt 11: 16-17

All of us enjoy something for nothing. Walking the streets of New York City, there are often salespeople offering new varieties of sports drinks or chocolate to passersby, and it is the rare person who doesn't take the "gift," even if they don't want it or need it. It's free, our unconscious says, take it! Because the distributors of these handouts hope that a percentage of the people who take them will enjoy the taste and become regular buyers of their products, they risk losing a good part of of their inventory in order to lay a foundation for big gains in the future.

Unfortunately, in this kind of environment, we can also get to a point where we think we deserve certain "perks," or fringe benefits even if we don't work for them. Like children who set the dinner table expecting to receive an extra portion of potatoes, we hope everyone recognizes our goodness and rewards us, but Jesus challenges this notion. The gift of faith is entirely free. We did not earn it. We cannot enhance it. We can only receive it with gratitude and give it away. More important, when we share God's gifts with others without expecting a return, the gift itself increases.

Today, put aside your expectations and let God treat you lavishly.

What expectations of God and others most get in the way of your living your faith more deeply?