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December 14, 2007

December 14th marks the feast day of St. John of the Cross (1542-1591), Carmelite fryar and priest from Spain. St. John of the Cross is revered in Catholic, Anglican, and Lutheran traditions for his work (with Saint Teresa of Ávila) of reforming the Carmelite order, and for his poetry and meditations on the soul. He is one of 33 Doctors of the Church in the Catholic tradition.

St. John of the Cross is considered to be one of the best-ever Spanish language poets. A common theme in his work is the trials and purifications the soul must go through before it can be truly united with God. Or as the Catholic encyclopedia puts it, "[John's] axiom is that the soul must empty itself of self in order to be filled with God, that it must be purified of the last traces of earthly dross before it is fit to become united with God." The periods of imprisonment and torture John went through in his own life certainly affected how he felt God works to purify humankind. St. John of the Cross is the originator of the phrase "dark night of the soul," which was the title of one of his poems. I'm sure most of our readers are familiar with the term, and most persons of mature faith, if they are honest, will admit to having gone through one or more "dark nights" themselves -- times where God feels distant, prayers feel unrewarding and unanswered, and faith seems destined to collapse on itself. The hope is that this dark night is only temporary, and that the subject emerges on the other side with a deeper, stronger, closer relationship with God, and a better appreciation of the Divine. But that is not always the case -- Mother Theresa famously spent most of her adult life with severe doubts about the faith that appeared outwardly to motivate her to great good.

To be sure, this is heady stuff for the week before Christmas. Still, as those of us lucky to be in churches that celebrate Advent can tell you, this time of year is not just for celebrating Christ's historical birth, but also anticipating his eventual return. Through the long, dark nights of winter, we should pray and meditate on the Advent of our God and ask that he would draw us closer to him, reform our hearts and minds, and prepare us to do good works in this world.

Other entries in this series:

"Taking Back St. Nick" by Zach Wendling
"St. Ambrose" by Zach Wendling
"Pope Saint Damascus I" by Joshua Claybourn

Posted by David Darlington at December 14, 2007 10:14 PM

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