Contrary to what many may think, St.John of the Cross was not at all rigid.
See that you are not suddenly saddened by the adversities of this world, for you do not know the good they bring, being ordained in the judgments of God for the everlasting joy of the elect. - Maxims
Happy feast day!
From Bishop Robert Barron:
ReplyDelete"Friends, today we celebrate the feast of St. John of the Cross, the great 16th-century teacher on spirituality and a Doctor of the Church. John famously said that the soul is like a pane of glass. When it is clean and clear, the light of God shines through it, but when it is smudged with attachments, it blocks the divine light.
What did he mean by attachments? Attachments are anything in this world, including your own life, that you are convinced you cannot live without. Money, fame, power, privilege, the esteem of others, material things, your own survival—any of these become attachments when we cling to them in order to protect or foster our egos. They become our masters and we become their prisoners.
So what do we do? How do we move from attachment to freedom? We have to realize that everything is a gift. Your being, your life, your body, your powers of mind and will and imagination, your accomplishments—all of it is a gift from a gracious God. When we realize this, we know that nothing is owed us; we have no great status to defend. Then we can live in gratitude."
To life as St. John of the Cross prays we do is a gift too ... let's keep praying for each other and for the world.
Happy feast day!