by Faith Central & Steve Welsh
“Jesus … said … ‘Elijah will indeed come and restore all things; but I tell you … Elijah has already come … they did not recognize him but did to him whatever they pleased. So also will the Son of Man suffer at their hands.’ …the Disciples understood that He was speaking to them of John the Baptist.”
“… Dark Night of the Soul … Ascent of Mount Carmel … Spiritual Canticle of the Soul and the Bridegroom Christ …”
“Saint John of the Cross who is well known for his mystical writings and poetry, was closely associated with Saint Teresa in her work of founding the reformed Carmel. Juan de Ypes was born at Fontiveros in Spain in 1542 into a poor and struggling family. The death of his father soon afterwards and the lack of family support for his mother meant that he was no stranger to destitution. In fact, one of his brothers died in childhood, probably from malnutrition. John’s life was marked by suffering but he knew the security of the genuine selfless love of his mother and elder brother, Francisco. …”
“Dec. 14 is the liturgical memorial of Saint John of the Cross, a 16th century Carmelite priest best known for reforming his order together with Saint Teresa of Avila, and for writing the classic spiritual treatise ‘The Dark Night of the Soul.’ …”
[featured image is file photo]
Catholic televised Mass Readings and Homily for the Memorial of Saint John of the Cross, Dec. 14, 2018, from EWTN in Alabama. [Click here for Mass Readings]
Catholic televised Mass for the Memorial of Saint John of the Cross, Dec. 14, 2018, from Loretto Abbey in the Archdiocese of Toronto. [Click here for Mass Readings]
[featured image adapted from image at Creative Commons Wikimedia Commons Pjposullivan,
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Loretto_Abbey_chapel_interior,_Toronto.JPG, with additional conditions stated at that link and in the alt-tag here]
“… At Rome in the sixth century Lucy was honored among the other virgin martyrs, and her name was inserted in the Canon of the Mass. A reference to her sanctity occurs in a letter written by Pope Gregory the Great. In the Middle Ages, she was invoked by persons suffering from eye trouble, perhaps because Lucy (in Italian, Lucia) derives from <lux>, the Latin word for light. The first church writer to give an account of St. Lucy from her <Acts> was the English bishop St. Aldhelm of Sherborne at the end of the seventh century. This saint’s relics are venerated at Venice and at Bourges, in France. She is patroness of Syracuse; her emblems are a cord and eyes.”
Catholic televised Mass Readings and Homily for the Memorial of Saint Lucy, Virgin and Martyr, Dec. 13, 2018, from EWTN in Alabama. [Click here for Mass Readings]
“St. Lucy is a virgin and martyr of Syracuse in Sicily, whose feast is celebrated on December 13th. … Like so many of the early martyrs, Lucy had consecrated her virginity to God, and she hoped to devote all her worldly goods to the service of the poor. …”