Curial cardinal pays tribute to St. John of Ávila

October 08, 2013

Writing in L’Osservatore Romano, the prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments paid tribute to St. John of Ávila (1499-1569) as a model priest and preacher, one year after Pope Benedict XVI proclaimed him a doctor of the Church.

Noting that the saint spent hours in prayer before each sermon, Cardinal Antonio Cañizares Llovera said that he focused on essentials, especially Christ crucified.

“The strength of the preaching of the holy doctor John of Ávila, who loved the Lord -- and much -- was based on familiarity with Jesus, which is acquired and lives mostly in prayer, along with the encounter with Him in the Eucharist and in penance, meditation and study of the Word, in the sacrifice which unites us to Him,” the prelate said.

Cardinal Cañizares Llovera urged priests to read the works of the saint, who was “faithful to the truth and the teachings of the Church.”

 

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Further information:

• Ogni singola frase predicata dev’essere vissuta (L’Osservatore Romano)
• Pope Benedict XVI: Apostolic Letter Proclaiming Saint John of Avila, diocesan priest, a Doctor of the Universal Church