Advent Meditations: Saturday 14 December
| Sat Dec 14 |
am 31 pm: 35 |
Isa 7:10-25 | 2 Thes 2:13-3:5 | Luke 22:14-30 |
ON THE LITURGICAL CALENDAR Feast of St John of the Cross – Mystic and Teacher of the Faith, 1591
Perhaps best the term “the dark night of the soul,” is most associated with John of the Cross. It comes from the poem in which he wrote about “the soul’s happiness in having passed through the dark night of faith, in nakedness, and purgation, to union. For John, a Carmelite Friar, the spiritual life is a continual process of growth or regression. It is never static. Growth in the spiritual life is an integrated development that implies a firm, unrelenting, and enthusiastic search for union with God. It is not a dissipated pursuit of several goals at once.
BIBLICAL MEDITATION: The words of St. Paul to the Thessalonians are very clear in their intent as they remind Christians that we have a special responsibility to conduct ourselves in a way that reflects glory to God and as such we must be willing to work, in our capacity according to our own gifts to give that glory. For the Thessalonians Paul prays that the faithful God would encourage their hearts and strengthen them in every good deed and word to accomplish the spread of the Gospel.
St. John of the Cross affirmed this very approach in his four major writings: The Ascent of Mount Carmel, The Dark Night of the Soul, The Spiritual Canticle, and The Living Flame of Love. He addressed the call to sanctification and glorification by developing the theme of the purification of the soul, which he maintained allowed us to come to know God as he is in himself and as a result honor him fully. The demanding process of purification, at times active and others passive, requires our determined effort, but it is God who is the real center; all man can do is dispose of himself and humble himself before the loving work of God in the soul.
PRAYER OF THE DAY O Gracious Lord give me the ability to see good things in unexpected places.
And talents in unexpected people; and give O Lord, the grace to tell them so. Amen. (Prayer of St. Teresa of Avila).
Spiritual Discipline/Activity- Read Chapter I from Dark Night of Soul by St. John of the Cross http://www.ccel.org/ccel/john_cross/dark_night.vii.i.html In this chapter, St. John describes the flaws of beginners on the spiritual journey. These descriptions are not given to discourage the beginner but to make them aware of their spiritual imperfections.
ANCIENT WISDOM/PRESENT GRACE: This soul is so near to God that it is transformed in the flames of love, wherein Father, Son, and Holy Spirit communicate themselves to it. The effect of the living flames is to make the soul live spiritually in God and experience the life of God. — St. John of the Cross, Living Flame of Love (Stanza 1:#6 and #8
SONG OF THE DAY In Christ Alone
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpe110ZiUik
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