Report on the Carmelite Congress--A Homily from a Votive Mass for St. John of the Cross

Here are some notes taken during the homily indicated above. (Yes, I am still sufficiently Protestant in midset to believe that if someone is willing to take the time and effort to prepare a sermon and tell me something worthwhile, I should take the trouble to try to capture it as best I can in the course of the event. [Hope this serves as a warning to all of the priest out there--some of us ARE listening. ;-)]I admit this is but a poor reflection of the fullness of the sermon, but it does give me something to go by.)

Homily for Votive Mass of St. John of the Cross

"In the evening we will be examined in love"

Power and love are incompatible with true love. Love is something mutually and freely given, so there must be some equality.

Our Lord washing the feet of the Apostles is a sign of true friendship. By washing the feet of the Apostles He gives up all power over them. We must love one another as He has loved us. We give up the need to dominate one another and all claims power.

It is this love that was embodied in St. John of the Cross. "In the evening we will be examined in love." He lived a life that easily could have led to hatred and bitterness. His father married beneath his station and died early in John's life.

In 1563 entered Carmelite Order. In 1567 became a Priest of the Order. In Medina del Campo met St. Teresa and began to introduce her reform to the friars. Twice caught and locked up. In prison wrote some of his poetry. "In the evening we will be examined in love"

The spirituality of St. John of the Cross is dependent upon his experience of God. To gain our lives we must lose them in God through self-denial and complete immersion in God.

In the popular mind St. John is known for his austerity and on "nada." He was compassionate, kind, welcoming, and loving. We do not often look at the radiant love of St. John of the Cross.

Absolute abandonment to the will of God. He was particularly scathing of religiosity and of attachments to externals. We must abandon things to make space for God to get in. Our world is haunted by a desire for the interior life. Let us continue to climb-the holy mountain of Carmel where we will find God.

"In the evening we will be examined in love"