Advent: December 14th

MASS READINGS

December 14, 2012 (Readings on USCCB website)

COLLECT PRAYER

O God, who gave the Priest Saint John an outstanding dedication to perfect self-denial and love of the Cross, grant that, by imitating him closely at all times, we may come to contemplate eternally your glory. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.

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Recipes (4)

• Carmelite Sundaes
• Gazpacho III
• Oatmeal Carmelite Bars
• Onion and Egg Ember Day Tart

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Activities (9)

• Celebrating for the Feast of St. John of the Cross
• Description of Ember Days
• Ember Days
• Explanation of Ember Days
• Namedays
• Rabbits, Ember Days and First Fruits
• Religion in the Home for Elementary School: December
• Religion in the Home for Preschool: December
• What is a Nameday?

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Prayers (9)

• Advent Wreath Prayers I
• Advent Wreath Prayers II
• Book of Blessings: Blessing Before and After Meals: Advent (2nd Plan)
• Christmas Anticipation Prayer
• Book of Blessings: Blessing Before and After Meals: Advent (1st Plan)
• Litany of Saint John of the Cross
• Ember Day Prayers
• Ember Days Prayer
• Brief Meditations on the Church Year: Advent Ember Days

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Library (3)

• A Graced Bewilderment: The Dark Night of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta | Fr. Paul Murray OP
• Demons According to St. Teresa and St. John of the Cross | Fr. Antonio Moreno O.P.
• Saint John of the Cross | Pope Benedict XVI

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Blog & Podcasts (6)

• Contemporary Observation of Ember Days
• Crossing the Meditation Divide
• Practicing apologetics upon ourselves: Five models
• Rejoice, the Lord is Near! Gaudete Sunday, Ember Days and O Antiphons
• Spiritual Growth vs. Spiritual Consolation
• St. John of the Cross on Fine Wine

» Enjoy our Liturgical Seasons series of e-books!

St. John of the Cross (1542-1591) was born and died in Spain. His parents were poor and could not give him training in any trade. Hence he became the servant of the sick in the hospital of Medina. In 1563 he offered himself as a lay brother to the Carmelite friars, who, however, perceiving his unusual talents, had him ordained a priest. When he was about to join the more severe Order of the Carthusians, the saintly Teresa persuaded him to remain and help her in the reform of the Carmelite Order. This reform of his order caused him such sufferings and brought him many trials. But his sufferings served only to detach him from creatures. He had a great devotion to Our Lord's Passion and voluntarily sought out humiliations. When Our Lord asked him what reward he would ask for his labors, John answered: "To suffer and to be despised for Thee." He died of a cruel disease, embracing the crucifix. Because of his profound treatises on mystical theology Pope Pius XI proclaimed him Doctor of the Church. According to the 1962 Missal of Bl. John XXIII the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite St. John of Cross' feast is celebrated on November 24.

Jesse Tree ~ King David

St. John of the Cross
Juan de Yepes was the Castilian son of a poor silk weaver of Fontiberos, Toledo, Spain and was born in 1542. His father was of noble birth; he had married much beneath him, and for that offense had been entirely cut off by his family. He had taken to silk weaving as a means of livelihood, but had never been able to make much of it. Soon after the birth of Juan he died, worn out with the effort to keep his wife and three children. The family was left in direst poverty; the children grew up always underfed, so that to the end of his life Juan remained dwarfed in stature.

Unable to learn a trade, he became the servant of the poor in the hospital of Medina, while still pursuing his sacred studies. In 1563, being then twenty-one, he humbly offered himself as a lay-brother to the Carmelite friars, who, however, knowing his talents, had him ordained priest. He would now have exchanged to the severe Carthusian Order, had not St. Teresa of Avila, with the instinct of a saint, persuaded him to remain and help her in the reform of his own Order.

Thus he became the first prior of the Discalced (meaning "barefoot") Carmelites. His reform, though approved by the general, was rejected by the elder friars, who condemned the saint as a fugitive and apostate, and cast him into prison, whence he only escaped, after nine months' suffering, at the risk of his life. Twice again, before his death, he was shamefully persecuted by his brethren, and publicly disgraced. But his complete abandonment by creatures only deepened his interior peace and devout longing for heaven.

St. John was a great contemplative and spiritual writer. He was proclaimed Doctor of the Church by Pope Pius XI on August 24, 1926. He is the patron of contemplative life, mystical theology, mystics, and Spanish poets.

—Excerpted from Little Pictorial Lives of the Saints ©1878 and Saints for Sinners by Alban Goodier, S.J.

"With what procrastinations do you wait, since from this very moment you can love God in your heart?"

—Excerpted from Prayer of a Soul Taken with Love — St. John of the Cross

Mine are the heavens and mine is the earth. Mine are the nations, the just are mine and mine the sinners. The angels are mine, and the Mother of God, and all things are mine; and God himself is mine and for me, because Christ is mine and all for me. What do you ask, then, and seek my soul? Yours is all of this, and all is for you. Do not engage your self in something less or pay heed to the crumbs that fall from your Father's table. Go forth and exult in your Glory! Hide yourself in it and rejoice, and you will obtain the supplications of your heart.

—Excerpted from Sayings of Light and Love, 26-27 —St. John of the Cross

Patronage: Contemplative life; contemplatives; mystical theology; mystics; Spanish poets; Segovia, Spain; Ta’ Xbiex, Malta

Symbols and Representation: eagle; priest in Carmelite robes holding a cross

Highlights and Things to Do:

• See Celebrating the Feast of St. John of the Cross for ideas.

• Read more about St. John of the Cross at the ICS website.

• Three of his works, Ascent of Mount Carmel, Dark Night of the Soul and Spiritual Canticle of the Soul and the Bridgegroom Christ are available online at the Christian Classics Ethereal Library.

  Find out more about the Discalced Carmelites, which is the Carmelite order St. John belonged. Discalced simply means "unshod or barefooted" which means this division of Carmelites either wear sandals or are barefooted.

• See Loyola Press for a short biography for children.

Ember Wednesday of Advent
Station with Santa Maria Maggiore (St. Mary Major):
The station church for Ember Wednesday in Advent is the church of St. Mary Major in Rome. The liturgy invites us to visit the home of the Virgin of Nazareth and presents us the scenes of the Annunciation. Reverently beholding the holy Virgin, we contemplate the great mystery of the Incarnation. The traditional Mass text for the Golden Mass, or Rorate Mass or Missa Aurea, just before Christmas, emphasizes the Old Testament background leading to His birth. In the great Church of St. Mary Major the crib is venerated, which brings Bethlehem very close; Mary is our patron. She typifies the Church, for the role she played at Christ's first advent, the Church now takes in the Savior's liturgical advent as He manifests Himself in the mysteries (adapted from Pius Parsch, OSB, The Church's Year of Grace and Benedict Baur, The Light of the World).
For more information, see:
Vatican on the Basilica
Churches of Rome
Rome Art Lover

For further information on the Station Churches, see The Stational Church.