NOVEMBER 24 – ST. JOHN OF THE CROSS.
THE father of St. John was discarded by his kindred for marrying a poor orphan, and the Saint, thus born and nurtured in poverty, chose it also for his portion. Unable to learn a trade, he became the servant of the poor in the hospital of Medina, while still pursuing his sacred studies. In 1563, being then twenty-one, he humbly offered himself as a lay brother to the Carmelite friars, who, however, knowing his talents, had him ordained priest. He would now have exchanged to the severe Carthusian Order, had not St. Teresa, with the instinct of a Saint, persuaded him to remain and help her in the reform of his own Order. Thus he became the first prior of the Barefooted Carmelites. His reform, though approved by the general, was rejected by the elder friars, who condemned the Saint as a fugitive and apostate, and cast him into prison, whence he only escaped, after nine months’ suffering, at the risk of his life. Twice again, before his death, he was shamefully persecuted by his brethren, and publicly disgraced. But his complete abandonment by creatures only deepened his interior peace and devout longing for heaven.
REFLECTION: “Live in the world,” said St. John, “as if God and your soul only were in it; so shall your heart be never made captive by any earthly thing.
WORD OF THE DAY
LATIN. Originally the Italic dialect of ancient Rome. It was the ordinary language of the Roman Empire at the time of Christ, and Latin translations of the Bible were made as early as the second century. The liturgy was also celebrated in Latin (along with Coptic, Greek, and Ethiopic) since apostolic times. Latin gradually became the official language of the Western Church, and from the time of Tertullian (c. 160-c. 220) was used extensively in theological writing. A historic change took place at the Second Vatican Council, which declared that “the use of the Latin language . . . is to be preserved in the Latin rite. But since the use of the vernacular . . . may frequently be of great advantage to the people, a wider use may be made of it” in the liturgy. (Constitution on the Liturgy, I, 36.) Since the Council the Church continues to use Latin in her official documents, requires the study of Latin by her future priests, and encourages the use of Latin in those parts of the Mass that are sung or recited by the people, e.g., the Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Pater Noster, and Agnus Dei. (Etym. Latin Latinum, district of Italy in which Rome was situated.)
Modern Catholic Dictionary, Fr. John Hardon SJ (Get the real one at Eternal Life — don’t accept an abridged or edited version of this masterpiece!)
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