Wednesday of the 3rd week of Advent (Year I)
Saint John of the Cross, Priest, Doctor
Isaiah 45:6-8,18,21-25 | Psalm 84(85):9-14(Advent) | Luke 7:19-23
Today, we remember the life of St. John of the Cross (San Juan de la Cruz), a major figure in the Counter-Reformation of the late 16th century. The violent rejection to his reforms from his clerical brethren is a stark reminder that we are all sinners, even men of the cloth.
We will all fall prey at one time or another to pride, jealousy and other negative aspects of our humanity, and when we let it drive us to self-centeredness and away from the mercy and compassion of our Lord, it can be very difficult to take that first step toward reconciliation with the One at the end of everything.
So let us consciously turn and face the Lord this Advent, no matter how difficult it might seem, or how many excuses we’re tempted to make up.
Let us stop trying to cram every waking moment with pleasures and make-work and time-wasters, or trying to be everything to everyone just so we can say to God, “sorry, I’m very busy right now”.
Let us instead spend some time each day with the Lord this Advent, opening our hearts like the earth that Isaiah described, opening “for salvation to spring up”, for “deliverance to bud forth”.
Let us feel the cooling dew of His compassion, raining down from the heavens, and share that healing kindness as we minister to our less-fortunate brethren.
The Lord is coming. Let us meet him halfway, as eager and uninhibited as little children.
Amen.