Tag: Saint John of the Cross

Carmelite homily for Tuesday, January 28, 2020 – Lectionary 318 (Mark 3:31-35)

In today’s Gospel Jesus says, “those who do the will of the Father are like brother and sister and mother to me.”  That means being familiar, being horizontal and not lording it over.  Saint John of the Cross writes, “Those attached to dignities are considered by God as mere slaves and not offspring.”  I think that’s the call of today’s Gospel: to see the world horizontally, not vertically; and to live horizontally, not vertically.  All are brothers and sisters in Jesus.  

Carmelite homily for Monday, January 27, 2020 – Lectionary 317 (Mark 3:22-30)

I like this line from Saint John of the Cross.  He writes, “Those who become angry over the sins of others and reprove these others angrily have set themselves up as lords of virtue.  Such conduct is contrary to spiritual meekness.”  I think that’s what we see in this Gospel.  There are ‘lords of virtue’ here who are condemning the Lord of Life as Beelzebub.  I think the call, if we’re going to be spiritual people, is to be spiritually meek, and not be condemnatory or judgmental.  Sometimes I think the one unforgiveable sin is when we ourselves are unforgiving.  I think Jesus sometimes means it when he says, “the measure you measure out will be measured back to you.”  Instead, let us search for and let us live in spiritual meekness. 

Carmelite homily for Thursday, January 23, 2020 – Lectionary 314 (Mark 3:7-12)

The best known poem of Saint John of the Cross is The Dark Night.   It begins, “One dark night, fired by love’s urgent longings – ahh, the sheer grace – I went out unseen, my house being now all stilled.”  In today’s Gospel we have far from a stilled house – big crowds pressing on Jesus.  He’s healing them.  He has to get into a boat so they don’t crush him.  They’re looking for something.  They’re looking for healing.  They’re looking for food.  They’re looking for health.  They’re looking for immediate needs met.  But I think Jesus goes and brings us all deeper than that.  Yeah, he’ll start there with all of us.  But I think if we stay with Jesus we start to look at not just immediate bodily needs being met, but spiritual needs, soul needs, eternal needs being met.  And that, in time, maybe we all will say individually and deeply and richly, “One dark night, fired by love’s urgent longings – ahh, the sheer grace – I went out unseen, my house being now all stilled.”  

Carmelite homily for Saturday, January 18, 2020 – Lectionary 310

In today’s Gospel we have the call of Levi (or Matthew).  Jesus is walking by the tax-collecting post and sees him and says, “Come follow me.”  And Levi does.  And invites everybody over to his house for a banquet in honor of this, and in honor of Jesus.  And what is the reaction of the crowds, especially the scribes?  They complain.  How this man is a sinner; he’s a tax-collector.  The people around here are sinners.  This is a great blessing and all they see are the problems.  John of the Cross says, “It is great wisdom to know how to be silent; look at neither the remarks nor the deeds nor the lives of others.”  That is very difficult advice, very needed advice.  That day at the customs-station, the tax-collectors station, and today.  But I think John is right: it is great wisdom to be silent. 

Carmelite homily for Saturday, December 14, 2019 – Lectionary 693

Today we celebrate the feast of a great one – Saint John of the Cross – Carmelite, mystic, spiritual writer, Doctor of the Church.  There’s so much to say.  But his best known quotation may say it all.  He writes, “At the evening of life you will be examined in love.”  I think of all his teachings writings, everything, his poetry, his commentaries, everything can be summarized by that one line.  And hopefully our lives can be summarized by that one line.  Because it’s a true line: “At the evening of life you will be examined in love.”  Happy Feast of Saint John of the Cross.

Carmelite homily for Tuesday, November 26, 2019 – Lectionary 504

Note: This post is a rerun from Sunday, November 17th, since the Gospel passage, Luke 21:5-11, is the same passage for today.

In today’s Gospel we some super-heavy-duty and scary end of the world scenarios where nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom and there’ll be earthquakes and plagues and omens in the sky and people will arrest you and haul you before judges.  And Jesus says “do not be terrified.”  I think John of the Cross says the same thing.  He says, “If the whole world should crumble and come to an end and all things go wrong, endure all with tranquility and with peaceful equanimity.”  Why?  Because it’s all in God’s hands.  No matter what happens – today, in your life, in the world, at the end of the world – endure all with tranquility and peaceful equanimity.  Great advice. 

Carmelite homily for Lectionary 503 | Monday, November 25, 2019

Webster’s Dictionary defines ‘mite’ as any small thing – m i t e – mite.  Oftentimes a little bug is called a mite, any small thing.  So today’s story, from Luke’s Gospel, is called ‘The Widow’s Mite.’  It represents the two copper coins she throws into the Temple Treasury.  And Jesus praises her for this mite, this tiny, little offering.  I think John of the Cross summarizes this very well when he writes, “God is more pleased by one work however small done secretly, than a thousand done with the desire that people know of them.”  That’s why Jesus praises this widow.  That’s why Jesus praises us – humility and not self-aggrandizement, but God-aggrandizement, other-aggrandizement, focus on God, focus on other.  That’s the call of this very simple Gospel.  

Carmelite homily for Lectionary 501 | Friday, November 22, 2019

This is a Re-Post from Saturday, November 9, 2019, because the Gospel that day was also the ‘Cleansing of the Temple.’ 

In today’s Gospel we have the ‘Cleansing of the Temple’ where Jesus overturned the money tables, and drove out the money changers and the animal handlers – to purify the Temple.  I think Jesus does the same thing to this Temple, to our hearts, and our souls.  And why?  John of the Cross says, “The soul must empty itself of all that is not God in order to go to God.”  With that in mind, let us ask Jesus to do to this Temple what he did to that Temple on that day. 

Carmelite homily for Lectionary 497 | Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Note: This post is a rerun from Sunday, November 3rd, since the Gospel passage, Luke 19:1-10, is the same passage for today.

In his Sayings of Light and Love, Saint John of the Cross instructs us that, “Travelers cannot reach new territory if they do not take new roads and abandon the old familiar ones.”  Good advice!  In today’s Gospel, Jesus is going to Jericho – a new road for him.  But more importantly, Zacchaeus is climbing a sycamore tree. That’s a new road for him.  He’s going to reach new territory: comfort, and closeness, and love of Jesus.  If we want those, we need to take new roads and abandon the old familiar ones that are getting us nowhere.