by Faith Central & Steve Welsh
“… John answered them … ‘I am baptizing you with water, but one Mightier than I is Coming. I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of His Sandals. He will Baptize you with the Holy Spirit and Fire. His Winnowing Fan is in His Hand to clear His Threshing Floor and to gather the wheat into His Barn, but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire.’ Exhorting them in many other ways, he preached Good News to the people.”
“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.’ …”
“… ‘… this generation … is like children who sit in marketplaces and call to one another, ‘We played the flute for you, but you did not dance, we sang a dirge but you did not mourn.’ … John came neither eating nor drinking, and they said, “He is possessed by a demon.” The Son of Man came eating and drinking and they said, “Look, He is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.” But wisdom is vindicated by her works.'”
“… 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.”
“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. …”
“St. Lucy (Lucia) feast day brings many different types of celebrations in various countries. Her feast is also tied in with the celebration of light and winter, as her name means light and her feast day originally coincided with the winter solstice, which marked the shortest day of the year. …”
“In 1531 a “Lady from Heaven” appeared to a humble Native American at Tepeyac, a hill northwest of what is now Mexico City. She identified herself as the ever Virgin Holy Mary, Mother of the True God for whom we live, of the Creator of all things, Lord of heaven and the earth. …”