| December 14 Saint John of the Cross Priest and Doctor Feast |
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John was born at Fontiveros in Spain about 1542. He entered the Carmelites and with the permission of his superiors began to live a stricter life. Afterwards he was persuaded by Saint Teresa to begin, together with some others, the Discalced reform within the Order; this cost him much hard work and many trials. He died in Ubeda in 1591, outstanding in holiness and wisdom, to which his many spiritual writings give eloquent witness.
Invitatory
Jesus Christ is the only Word of the Father; come, let us adore him.
Office of Readings
Hymn
O Saint more blessed than tongue can say
Who walked the ways our Savior trod
And bore his cross along the way
That leads to peace and rest in God.
Be near us when temptation calls
And keep us true for evermore.
Bring light when sin's dark shadow falls
And guide us home to heaven's door.
O Saint of Christ's redeeming Cross,
The road of life is dark and long;
When sorrow comes, and pain and loss,
Teach us to be resigned and strong.
Oh, win for us the joy of grace,
The light of love, the peace of prayer,
That we may reach God's dwelling-place
and live with you forever there.
L.M. Brian O'Higgins
Psalmody
Ant. 1 God chose us to be conformed to the image of his Son.
Psalm 16
Preserve me, God, I take refuge in you. †
I say to the Lord: 'You are my God. *
My happiness lies in you alone.'
He has put into my heart a marvelous love *
for the faithful ones who dwell in his land.
Those who choose other gods increase their sorrows. †
Never will I offer their offerings of blood.
Never will I take their name upon my lips.
O Lord, it is you who are my portion and cup; *
it is you yourself who are my prize.
The lot marked out for me is my delight: *
welcome indeed the heritage that falls to me!
I will bless the Lord who gives me counsel, *
who even at night directs my heart.
I keep the Lord ever in my sight: *
since he is at my right hand, I shall stand firm.
And so my heart rejoices, my soul is glad; *
even my body shall rest in safety.
For you will not leave my soul among the dead, *
nor let your beloved know decay.
You will show me the path of life, †
the fullness of joy in your presence, *
at your right hand happiness for ever.
Ant. God chose us to be conformed to the image of his Son.
Ant. 2 Among you I claimed to know nothing save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
Psalm 33 (34)
I
I will bless the Lord at all times, *
his praise always on my lips;
in the Lord my soul shall make its boast. *
The humble shall hear and be glad.
Glorify the Lord with me. *
Together let us praise his name.
I sought the Lord and he answered me; *
from all my terrors he set me free.
Look towards him and be radiant; *
let your faces not be abashed.
This poor man called; the Lord heard him *
and rescued him from all his distress.
The angel of the Lord is encamped *
around those who revere him, to rescue them.
Taste and see that the Lord is good. *
He is happy who seeks refuge in him.
Revere the Lord, you his saints. *
They lack nothing, those who revere him.
Strong lions suffer want and go hungry *
but those who seek the Lord lack no blessing.
Ant. Among you I claimed to know nothing save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
Ant. 3 For me, to live is Christ, to die is gain.
II
Come, children, and hear me *
that I may teach you the fear of the Lord.
Who is he who longs for life *
and many days, to enjoy his prosperity?
Then keep your tongue from evil *
and your lips from speaking deceit.
Turn aside from evil and do good, *
seek and strive after peace.
The Lord turns his face against the wicked *
to destroy their remembrance from the earth.
The Lord turns his eyes to the just *
and his ears to their appeal.
They call and the Lord hears *
and rescues them in all their distress.
The Lord is close to the broken-hearted; *
those whose spirit is crushed he will save.
Many are the trials of the just man *
but from them all the Lord will rescue him.
He will keep guard over all his bones, *
not one of his bones shall be broken.
Evil brings death to the wicked, *
those who hate the good are doomed.
The Lord ransoms the souls of his servants. *
Those who hide in him shall not be condemned.
Ant. For me, to live is Christ, to die is gain.
V. In you, Lord, is the fount of life.
R. It is your light that enlightens us.
The First Reading
Col 1:11-29
A reading from the Letter of St Paul to the Colossians
God has transferred us to the Kingdom of his beloved Son
May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all
endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified
us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the
dominion of darkness and transferred to us the kingdom of his beloved Son, in
whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in him all
things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether
thrones or dominions or principalities or authorities—all things were created
through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold
together. He is the head of the body, the Church; he is the beginning, the firstborn
from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the
fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all
things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
And you, who once were estranged and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has
now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and
blameless and irreproachable before him, provided that you continue in the faith,
stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel which you heard,
which has been preached to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul,
became a minister.
Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is
lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the Church, of
which I became a minister according to the divine office which was given to me
for you, to make the word of God fully known, the mystery hidden for ages and
generations but now made manifest to his saints. To them God chose to make
known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery,
which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we proclaim, warning every man
and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man mature in
Christ. For this I toil, striving with all the energy which he mightily inspires within me.
Responsory
R. This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; * Listen to him.
V. In many and varied ways God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us in his Son. * Listen to him.
The Second Reading (Alternative 1) B, st. 37,36
A reading from the Spiritual Canticle of St John of the Cross
Knowledge of the mystery hidden in Christ Jesus
However numerous are the mysteries and marvels which holy doctors have discovered and saintly
souls understood in this earthly life, all the more is yet to be said and understood.
There is much to fathom in Christ, for he is like an abundant mine with many
recesses of treasures, so that however deep men go they never reach the end or
bottom, but rather in every recess find new veins with new riches everywhere.
On this account Saint Paul said of Christ: 'In Christ dwell hidden all treasures
and wisdom.' The soul cannot enter these caverns or reach these treasures if, as
we said, she does not first pass over to the divine wisdom through the straits of
exterior and interior suffering. For one cannot reach in this life what is attainable
of these mysteries of Christ without having suffered much, and without having
received numerous intellectual and sensible favors from God, and without
having undergone much spiritual activity; for all these favors are inferior to the
wisdom of the mysteries of Christ in that they serve as preparations for coming
to this wisdom.
Oh! If we could but now fully understand how a soul cannot reach the thicket
and wisdom of the riches of God, which are of many kinds, without entering the
thicket of many kinds of suffering, finding in this her delight and consolation;
and how a soul with an authentic desire for divine wisdom, wants suffering first
in order to enter this wisdom by the thicket of the cross! Accordingly, Saint Paul
admonished the Ephesians not to grow weak in their tribulations and to be strong
and rooted in charity in order to comprehend with all the saints what is the
breadth and height and depth, and to know also the supereminent charity of the
knowledge of Christ, in order to be filled with all the fullness of God.
The gate entering into these riches of his wisdom is the cross, which is narrow,
and few desire to enter by it, but many desire the delights obtained from entering
there.
Responsory
R. What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, things beyond our imagining—all that
God has prepared for those who love him: * these are the very things that God
has revealed to us through the Spirit.
V. The Spirit reaches the depths of everything, even the depths of God: * these
are the very things that God has revealed to us through the Spirit.
The Second Reading (Alternative 2) B, st. 5
A reading from the Spiritual Canticle of St John of the Cross
Traces of the divine beauty in creation
Created things in themselves, as Saint Augustine testifies, give testimony to God's grandeur and excellence. For God created all things with remarkable ease and brevity, and in them he left some trace of who he is, not only in giving all things being from nothing, but even by endowing them with innumerable graces and qualities, making them beautiful in a wonderful order and unfailing dependence on one another. All of this he did through his own wisdom, the Word, his only begotten Son by whom he created them.Saint Paul says: 'The Son of God is the splendor of his glory and the image of his substance.' It should be known that only with this figure, his Son, did God look at all things, that is he communicated to them their natural being and many natural graces and gifts, and made them complete and perfect, as is said in Genesis: 'God looked at all things that he made, and they were very good.' To look and behold that they were very good was to make them very good in the Word, his Son.
Not only by looking at them did he communicate natural being and graces, as we said, but also with this image of his Son alone, he clothed them in beauty by imparting to them supernatural being. This he did when he became man and elevated human nature in the beauty of God and consequently all creatures, since in human nature he was united with them all. Accordingly, the Son of God proclaimed: 'If I be lifted up from the earth, I will elevate all things to me.' And in this elevation of all things through the Incarnation of his Son and through the glory of his resurrection according to the flesh, the Father did not merely beautify creatures partially, but rather we can say, clothed them wholly in beauty and dignity.
Responsory
R. You will not deprive me, Lord, of what you have given me in Christ, * for in Christ you have given me everything.
V. The heavens are mine, the earth is mine; mine are the people, mine the just, mine the sinners, the angels are mine and the Virgin Mother is mine, * for in Christ you have given me everything.Where the extended Vigil Office is celebrated, see Appendix I.
Te Deum
Prayer as at Morning Prayer.
Morning Prayer
Hymn
Let us together
Up the high mountain
Go where the weather
Keeps a June glow.
You in your beauty,
I in your beauty,
Earth in your beauty,
Where'er we go.
Up past the steepest
Cliffs of our striving,
Up from the deepest
Thickets of pain
Where darkness bound you,
Ravaged and slew you,
Till daybreak found you,
Risen again.
Haste then our going
Up the high mountain,
Pure water flowing
Down from the height,
Wind in the spruces,
Light on the aspens,
Fruit of sweet juices—
All give delight.
Deep caverns holding
Secrets of heaven,
Summits unfoldingMyst'ries divine,
Nightingale singing,
Grove lit with beauty—
Each new day bringing
Taste of new wine.
Sweet the ascending
Up the high mountain,
Sweeter the ending—
Love spread abroad.
Everyone sharing
Grace of your image.
Everyone bearing
The beauty of God.
54.54.D.
Up the High Mountain
Miriam of the Holy Spirit, O.C.D.
Psalmody
Ant. I Truly you are a hidden God, O God of Israel, our Savior.
Psalms and canticle of Sunday I.
Ant. 2 All things are yours, for you are Christ's, and Christ is God's.
Ant. 3 With gratitude in your hearts sing spiritual songs to God.
Scripture Reading
2 Cor 3:17-18
The Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And
we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being changed
into his likeness from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the
Lord who is the Spirit.
Short Responsory
R. Your light will shine in the darkness * and the darkness will be as noon.
Repeat R.
V. The Lord will fill your soul with his splendor, * and the darkness will be as noon
Glory . . . R.
Benedictus
While you have the light, believe in the light, and you will be children of the light.
or
The Lord has come to give light to those who dwell in darkness and the shadow
of death, and to guide our feet in the way of peace.
Intercessions
Jesus Christ, the head and bridegroom of his Church makes us joyful today on
this feast of John of the Cross, his servant. Let us say to him:
R. You are the king of glory, O Christ.
Only Word of the Father, uttered eternally in the eternal silence, and in the
fullness of time received in the Virgin's womb;
— may we hear your words today in the depths of our hearts, and put them into practice. R.
Wisdom of the Father, you showed your great love for us by emptying yourself
in the Incarnation and on the Cross;
— may we, who have been redeemed by your blood, remain always in closest communion with you. R.
Perfect Image of God, in whom all the mysteries of eternal love are revealed and
given to us,
— by the work of your Holy Spirit may we ascend from brightness to brightness into your inaccessible light. R.
Supreme Delight of the Father, in whom God looks mercifully on all men;
— make us perfect in compassion as our heavenly Father is perfect. R.
First-born of all creation, through you the Father in his goodness created and recreated all things,
— may our thoughts and our hearts today rise up from what we can see to contemplate your unseen beauty, so that through our voices all
creatures may give praise to your name. R.
Our Father . . .
Prayer
Lord,
you endowed (our Father) St John of the Cross
with a spirit of self-denial and love of the cross.
By following his example
may we come to the eternal vision of your glory.
We ask this through our Lord.
Prayer During the Day
Antiphons and psalms of the weekday.
Before Noon
Ant. If anyone wishes to be a follower of mine, he must deny himself; he must take up his cross and come with me.
Scripture Reading
Eph 4:23-24
Your hearts and minds must be made completely new, and you must put on the
new self, which is created in God's likeness and reveals itself in the true life thatis upright and holy.
V. A pure heart create for me, O God.
R. Put a steadfast spirit within me.
Midday
Ant. Whoever would draw near to God must believe; the righteous live by faith.
Scripture Reading
Rom 5:1-2
Since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus
Christ. Through him we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand,
and we rejoice in our hope of sharing the glory of God.
V. I live by faith in the Son of God.
R. Who loved me and gave himself for me.Afternoon
Afternoon
Ant. Your strength will lie in silence and hope.
Scripture Reading
Rom 8:24-25
It was by hope that we were saved; but if we see what we hope for, then it is not
really hope. For who hopes for something he sees? But if we hope for what we
do not see, we wait for it with patience.
V. The Lord is good to those who trust in him.
R. To the soul who seeks him.
Evening Prayer II
Hymn
Saint of the eagle eye,
Gazing enrapt on high
Mid dread abysses of Divinity;
Martyr by heart's intent,
Virgin yet penitent,
Prophet and guide in realms of mystery.
Oft in your life, 'tis told
Sweet converse you did hold
With the pure Virgin and her Son divine;
Thence came the wondrous light
Flooding with glory bright
Your mystic page, for wisdom there did shine.
Clearly do you reveal
Secrets the clouds conceal
For you have seeped your soul in rays above,
Pondering the mountain height,
Darkness of faith's long night
And the reviving flame of mystic love.
When by God's holy will
His word do you instill,
Wondrous the marvels by the soul divined,
Like Him evoking light
From chaos deep as night,
Cheering with healthful beams the darkened mind.
O John, your praise intone
Prostrate before the throne!
The Father signed you with a light most true,
Gifts of the Spirit shine
And the meek Lamb divine
Opens the Book of Life to your pure view.
6.10.6.6.10.
Boston Carmel
Psalmody
Ant. I God loved us so much that he brought us to life with Christ.
Psalm 15
Lord, who shall be admitted to your tent *
and dwell on your holy mountain?
He who walks without fault; *
he who acts with justice
and speaks the truth from his heart; *
he who does not slander with his tongue;
he who does no wrong to his brother, *
who casts no slur on his neighbor,
who holds the godless in disdain, *
but honors those who fear the Lord;
he who keeps his pledge, come what may; †
who takes no interest on a loan *
and accepts no bribes against the innocent.
Such a man will stand firm for ever.
Ant. God loved us so much that he brought us to life with Christ.
Ant. 2 We have known and put our faith in the love God has for us.
Psalm 112
Happy the man who fears the Lord, *
who takes delight in all his commands.
His sons will be powerful on earth; *
the children of the upright are blessed.
Riches and wealth are in his house; *
his justice stands firm for ever.
He is a light in the darkness for the upright: *
he is generous, merciful and just.
The good man takes pity and lends, *
he conducts his affairs with honor.
The just man will never waver: *
he will be remembered for ever.
He has no fear of evil news; *
with a firm heart he trusts in the Lord.
With a steadfast heart he will not fear, *
he will see the downfall of his foes.
Open-handed, he gives to the poor; †
his justice stands firm for ever.
His head will be raised in glory.
The wicked man sees and is angry, †
grinds his teeth and fades away,
the desire of the wicked leads to doom.
Ant. We have known and put our faith in the love God has for us.
Ant. 3 The love of God is poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
Canticle: Eph 1:3-10
Blessed be the God and Father *
of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blessed us in Christ *
with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.
He chose us in him *
before the foundation of the world,
that we should be holy *
and blameless before him.
He destined us in love *
to be his sons through Jesus Christ,
according to the purpose of his will, †
to the praise of his glorious grace *
which he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.
In him we have redemption through his Blood, *
the forgiveness of our trespasses,
according to the riches of his grace *
which he lavished upon us.
He has made known to us †
in all wisdom and insight *
the mystery of his will,
according to his purpose *
which he set forth in Christ.
His purpose he set forth in Christ, *
as a plan for the fullness of time,
to unite all things in him, *
things in heaven and things on earth.
Ant. The love of God is poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
Scripture Reading
1 Cor 13:8-10, 12-13; 14:1a
Love is eternal. There are inspired messages, but they are temporary; there are
gifts of speaking in strange tongues, but they will cease; there is knowledge, but
it will pass. For our gifts of knowledge and of inspired messages are only partial;
but when what is perfect comes, then what is partial will disappear. What we see
now is like a dim image in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. What I know
now is only partial; then it will be complete—as complete as God's knowledge of me.
Meanwhile these three remain: faith, hope, and love; and the greatest of
these is love. It is love, then, that you should strive for.
Short Responsory
R. Love is as strong as death: * it flashes forth like flames of fire. Repeat R.
V. Who can separate us from the love of Christ? * It flashes forth like flames of fire
Glory... R.
Magnificat
Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, so that the
love with which you loved me may be in them, and that I may be in them.
Intercessions
God the Father has given us his Spirit through Jesus Christ his beloved Son, so
that we may be partakers in the divine nature and witnesses to his love in the
Church. Let us praise him and say:
R. Through the intercession of St John, hear us, O Lord.
Give your Church the living faith that will lead all men and women to seek you;
— and bring them to the closest union with you. R.
Give the hope of heaven to all who are faithful in seeking you;
— may they obtain all that they hope for. R.
Pour out your love upon us;
— that where there is no love we may put love and so draw love out. R.
May all Carmelites be imitators of the Virgin Mary, Mother of our Order;
— may we follow every inspiration of the Holy Spirit. R.
Give final purification to all our departed brothers and sisters;
— so that they may sing without delay the song of love with your saints in heaven. R.
Our Father...
Prayer as at Morning Prayer.
