John of the Cross, priest and doctor

14 DECEMBER 2009. Today the Church celebrates the memorial of Saint John of the Cross, a Sixteenth Century Carmelite friar, reformer, and doctor of the Church.

Saint John of the Cross was born as Juan de Yepes Alvarez near Avila, Spain on 24 June 1542. Saint John's father died when he was young, and his family moved often, suffering from the effects of poverty. In 1563 Saint John entered the Carmelite Order and the following year, in 1564, Saint John professed vows as a Carmelite and moved to Salamamca, where he studied at the University and Colegio de San Adres.

Saint John was ordained to the priesthood in 1567, and afterwards he indicated his intent to join the Carthusian Order--attracted to the Carthusian's life of solitude and silent contemplation. However, before joining the Carthusians, Saint John met with Saint Teresa of Jesus, who described her efforts to reform the Carmelite Order and asked Saint John to delay his entry into the Carthusian Order. The following year, on 28 November, Saint John began the reformation of the Carmelite Order, as envisioned by Saint Teresa of Jesus, in Durelo.

Durelo, previously a small and impoverished town, became a hub of religious activity in Spain. Saint John continued to work as a helper of Saint Teresa until 1577, founding new monestaries around Spain and taking an active part in their governance. The followers of Saint Teresa and Saint John called themselves "discalced" or barefoot Carmlites to distinguish their stricter, reform rule from other Carmelites. However, some Carmelites at the time opposed Saint Teresa's and Saint John's reforms as too strict.

On 2 December 1577, Saint John's superiors took him prisoner and jailed him in Toledo, where he was publicly lashed and kept in isolation in a cell barely large enough for him to fit into. However, after nine months of imprisonment, Saint John managed to escape. After his escape from prison, Saint John continued his reform of the Carmelite Order, founding many Discalced Carmelite monasteries.

While in prison, Saint John of the Cross composed poetry on paper that was smuggled to him be a friar who was charged with guarding his cell. Today he is recognized as one of the foremost poets of the Spanish language, even though all of his poetry, together, comprises less than 2,500 verses. Saint John died on 14 December 1591. However, that is not the end of Saint John's story.

Probably his two most famous poems, Spiritual Canticle and Dark Night of the Soul, are considered widely the best Spanish language poems written. Spiritual Canticle is an eclogue where the bride represents the human soul and the bridegroom is Jesus Christ. In the poem, the bride searches for the bridegroom with anxiety that she has lost him; both are filled with joy when they reunite. Dark Night of the Soul tells the story of the soul;'s journey from her bodily home to God. The poem is set at night, which represents the hardships of the world. The soul's journey takes several steps through the night, representing the painful experiences that people endure in growing closer to Christ.Saint John also wrote a commentary on Dark Night of the Soul, which explains the poem verse-by-verse.

Saint John also wrote four treatises on mystical theology, two treatises concerning Spiritual Canticle and Dark Night of the Soul, and Ascent of Mount Carmel, of which most Catholics have at least heard something. Ascent of Mount Carmel is a systematic study of the ascetical endeavor of a soul looking for perfect union with God. Servant of God Pope John Paul II wrote his dissertation on Saint John of the Cross' mystical theology.

Saint John's writings were first published in 1618. He was canonized by Pope Benedict XIII in 1726. In 1926, Pope Pius XI declared Saint John of the Cross a doctor of the Church. Although Saint John's feast day was originally celebrated on 24 November when it was first added to the General Roman Calendar, it was moved to the anniversary of his death, today 14 December, by Pope Paul VI.

Ad Centum: Saint Gertrude, virgin

16 NOVEMBER 2009. Today is the feast day (optional memorial) of Saint Gertrude of Helfta.

Saint Gertrude of Helfta is the most celebrated of several Saints of the same name, and for this reason tradition refers to her as Saint Gertrude the Great. She was born on 6 January 1256. We know nothing of her parents, so several sources say that Saint Gertrude was probably an orphan. Placed with the Benedictines of Helfta at the age of five, Saint Gertrude was known for her pursuit of academic studies. When she reached the appropriate age, Gertrude became a Benedictine nun. The sister of Saint Gertrude's abbess was Saint Mechtilde of Hackeborn, who became close friends and a trusted spiritual advisor of Saint Gertrude.

Saint Gertrude learned Latin in her youth, as was the custom for women religious in those days, and wrote Latin with unusual elegance and force. She also had an uncommon knowledge of Holy Scripture and of all the branches of learning having religion as their object; but one day Our Lord reproached her for being too dedicated to her studies. Afterwards she could find in them nothing but bitterness; but soon Our Lord came to instruct her Himself. One of the great mystics of the Church, Saint Gertrude had visions of Our Lord and the Holy Virgin throughout her life--these visions are recorded in her written works, Revelation, which are still in print today.

Saint Gertrude had a great devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. In her writings we learn that during one of her visions of Christ, He invited her to rest her head on His chest to listen to the beating of His heart. Saint Gertrude is also known for her tender compassion for the souls in purgatory, and is often invoked in prayer for souls in purgatory. According to legend (because it is not found in Saint Gertrude's writings), Our Lord told Saint Gertrude that 1,000 souls would be released from purgatory each time the following prayer is said:

Eternal Father, I offer Thee the most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus Christ, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the Holy Souls in Purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the Universal Church, for those in my own home and within my family. Amen.

The prayer was extended to cover living persons as well.

Saint Gertrude died on 17 November 1302, at the convent of Saint Mary's of Helfta, Saxony. Although never officially canonized, Saint Gertrude the Great received an equipotent canonization and Pope Clement XII declared a universal feast day in her honor in 1677.

It is also notable that Saint Teresa of Avila (St. Teresa of Jesus) had great a devotion to Saint Gertrude.

Saint Gertrude the Great, pray for us!

Saint Teresa of Jesus, virgin and doctor of the Church

15 OCTOBER 2009. Today the Church celebrates the memorial of Saint Teresa of Jesus. Saint Teresa was born into a Spanish noble family in 1515, just after Columbus opened the Western Hemisphere and just before the Protestant Reformation.

Saint Teresa lived a life, as a young woman, far from the ideals of sainthood. She enjoyed parties, boys, and flirting. but Saint Teresa's father was a very strict and pious man. Saint Teresa's mother was a fan of books, which in those days were the equivalent of our contemporary romance novels. Saint Teresa' father did not approve of his wife's reading materials. However, Saint Teresa also enjoyed reading her mother's books. To read them, though, Saint Teresa, had to sneak around her father's watchful eye.

As a teenager, it is said that Saint Teresa was assured that she was a horrible sinner. Many of us that rebel in our teenage years, through whatever means, can certainly relate to this self-critique.

Thinking that his daughter needed more discipline in her life, Saint Teresa's father sent her to a convent at the age of 16. At first Saint Teresa hated the convent. However, after a couple of years, Saint Teresa actually grew to enjoy the convent, as it seemed to be full of women who lived comfortably, had little worldly cares, and cared for one another. Besides, the convent was less strict than her father.

As Saint Teresa came of age she had to choose between marriage and the convent. Convinced of her own sinfulness, Saint Teresa ultimately embraced the life of the convent--deciding it was the best place for a sinner such as herself.

However, after a period of time, Saint Teresa began to hear the voice of God asking her to examine her convent life. Saint Teresa became convinced that the convent life needed more structure and, most importantly, needed to be focused on devotion to Christ--not comfortable living. In those days, women who had nowhere else to go often ended up in convents, regardless of vocation. Saint Teresa's convent often had parties where she engaged in gossip and flirting. And, Saint Teresa was an outgoing person whom everyone liked. While not serious sins, as far as we know, these sins kept her from really developing a relationship with God.

This lack of a relationship with Our Lord was born out in the fruitless years of Saint Teresa's mental prayer. For eighteen years, off and on, Saint Teresa engaged in mental prayer, without ever feeling the spiritual results of her prayer.

Then Saint Teresa fell ill with malaria. Saint Teresa was so sick that a grave was dug for her. But, she eventually recovered to a point. Afterwards, she was paralyzed for three years and never completely recovered. However, instead of strengthening her prayer, her illness led Saint Teresa to practically stop praying. She went years hardly praying at all. At the age of 41, a priest convinced Saint Teresa to return to prayer, but she did so with great difficulty. However, as she struggled with prayer, God began to bless her with the fruits of that prayer, including raptures which began to cause others around her to question her and poke fun.

Though her prayer life was growing, Saint Teresa still maintained many friendships until one day the Lord spoke to her: "No longer do I want you to converse with human beings but with angels." From that point onward, Christ was the first person in Saint Teresa's life. Now Saint Teresa's journey from a point that was very distant from God to and intimate relationship with Christ was completed, but the hardships had only begun.

There was a great deal of hostility toward Saint Teresa and gossip about her. Once, complaining to Christ, Jesus told her: "Teresa, that's how I treat my friends" Teresa responded, "No wonder you have so few friends."

However, at this point Saint Teresa came to truly unit herself to the will of Our Lord. And, in this union, she decided to reform her convent, in fact, the whole Carmelite order.Saint Teresa started a new convent, St. Joseph's, based upon a simple life of poverty devoted to prayer. However, there was open hostility, even from within the Church, to her new convent. To this, Saint Teresa replied: "May God protect me from gloomy saints."

Undaunted, and trusting in the Lord, Saint Teresa continued in her efforts. Saint Teresa believed and taught that the spiritual life is an attitude of love, not rules. Indeed, she believed in penance less than obedience to God. For Saint Teresa, if you did something wrong, one should not focus on punishing one's self--instead, change.

At St. Joseph's, Saint Teresa spent most of her time outside of prayer writing her life story. Saint Teresa was ordered to write about her Life by Christ. However, she had to camouflage much of her writings with text that would pass the intense scrutiny of those who were hostile to her. For example, after a profound statement, she would write: "But what do I know. I'm just a wretched woman." Though she was brought before the Inquisition, she was ultimately cleared.

At the age of 51 Saint Teresa decided it was time to spread her reform movement. Through a great deal of difficulty and hardships, Saint Teresa went about sowing the seeds of reform, admitting postulants, and founding convents for a reformed life of simple poverty and prayer.

In poor health, Saint Teresa died at the age of 67 on 4 October 1582.

Saint Teresa is the founder of the Discalced Carmelites. She was canonized on 12 March 1622 by Pope Gregory XV and declared a Doctor of the Church in 1970 by Pope Paul VI.

There is much more that could be written here about Saint Teresa of Jesus. This post offers only the briefest sketch of Saint Teresa.

What can be said, however, is that Saint Teresa is a wonderful example of two principles that each of us can take into our daily lives. First, do not despair at your sin, but continue to fervently grow in your love of Christ. Nothing is too big for the Lord. Even a person who considers herself a loathsome sinner can be raised to the heights of glory with Our Lord. Second, the path of Christ is not an easy one, but one that must be walked faithfully. In many ways, the great Pope John Paul II showed the sanctification of illness and hardship. So to, did Saint Teresa show that perseverance through hardship is a path to Christ. So, no one should wallow in self-pity, but thank the Lord for the hardships that come our way in life.

Pray that by the intercession of Saint Teresa of Jesus, our hardships will be a blessing of sanctification of our lives to Christ!

IMAGE: by Peter Paul Rubens. On display in the Museum of Art History, Vienna Austria.