Prayer of the Day
Feast of St. John of the Cross, Priest and Doctor of the Church
December 14th, 2013
Today we celebrate the memorial of the 16th century Spanish Carmelite mystic St. John of the Cross, friend of St. Teresa of Avila. John is famous for his ecstatic love poems to the Holy One. The source of inspiration for his Spiritual Canticle was The Song of Songs. Mystics of all religious traditions speak one language: the longing of the soul for union with the Divine. The mystics throw open the doors of the heart and invite the reader to a direct relationship with the Beloved. This is a relationship of love not fear. In his Spiritual Canticle St. John of the Cross wrote: “The more the soul knows God the greater becomes her desire and anguish to see him … any soul with authentic love cannot be satisfied until she really possesses God.”