Homily: Feast of St. John of the Cross

Feast of St. John of the Cross (Luke 7:18-23) “From Dark Night to Light”

St. John of the Cross is one of the giants of Carmelite Spirituality. He lived at the time of the reformation. He led a reform of the Carmelite Order along with Teresa of Avila his dear friend. The Carmelite order claims to trace its roots back to Mt. Carmel and the prophet Elijah. Hermits lived on that mountain in the Holy Land. They gradually made their way into Europe and became one of the orders of friars along with the Franciscans and Dominicans.

John of the Cross is given credit for inventing the term “Dark Night of the Soul.” This is an interesting concept, and it is somewhat hard to understand. But many of us have experienced it at some point.

Mother Teresa spoke of having to go through this spiritual experience. Her dark night started shortly after she began the Missionaries of Charity. She felt that God had abandoned her. She felt her pray was dry and that it did not produce the consolations she would have hoped for. This spiritual dullness lasted for decades.

She even began to doubt the existence of God. Despite this spiritual struggle she carried on with her religious life. She continued to take care of the poorest of the poor and she was an inspiration to the world. Considering the state of her spiritual life it is amazing that she was able to forge ahead. It shows the incredible strength she had.

Most of us do not endure such a long dark night. Usually, we have experiences of this that last a far shorter period. Sometimes a dark night can be confused with an episode of depression, but it should not be equated to this.

The dark night that John of the Cross describes is a spiritual experience. There are times of great struggle in our life when we feel very much alone. We wonder if God is listening. We wonder if our prayers are doing any good. We are tempted to lose faith. This is what a dark night experience is. At some times John would meditate on the passionate love of God for him and his love for God. He was able to write some of the most beautiful love poetry ever. And he was able to carry on despite tremendous burdens.

Reflection Questions:

1.    Have I ever felt a dryness in my prayer life? Did that frighten me?

2.   Did I stop praying? Did I continue to persevere?

Dear Parishioners,

          On Sunday at 9:15 a.m. Mass we will be having the rite of acceptance for our confirmation candidates. We are pleased to have about forty young people who are anticipating confirmation in the spring of this year. Bishop Tylka will be here with us at that time.

          This year we are hoping that our confirmands engage with their sponsors a lot earlier. We also hope that they realize that the parish community is praying for them in a special way. Sacraments should be a celebration of the church community not just a private spiritual experience.

          If you know any of the young people who will be confirmed, I encourage you to affirm them in their choice. Tell them how important your confirmation was to you. Even though they will never admit it, the confirmation candidates will be touched by your interest.

          May Our Lady pray for our troubled world today,

          Fr. Mark