It is amazing how so often in our lives we are open
to only what we want to hear; we only see our own perspective and are perhaps
oblivious to what else is going on around us.
In the Gospel today, we are told a parable in which the people only hear
what they want to hear. The children
play music for dancing, the others did not join in the dance; they play laments
and dirges for mourning, but the others did not join in their wailing &
their cries of anguish. There is a time for everything in the Lord. Our lives go in cycles. Sometimes we experience wonderful, joyful
times in our lives, and at other times, there is extreme pain or sadness.
We are in the midst of the Advent season, a time
of waiting & preparation. Yet, we
live in a society of instant gratification & pleasure, where we don’t want
to wait, where we get impatient if we need a lot of time for preparation. Yet, Advent is a time where we are called to
repent, to wait, & to examine what it going on in our hearts and in our
lives of faith. Sometimes, that is not
easy to do since our restlessness and our impatience can get the best of us. While most of our society is already
celebrating Christmas, we wait and we prepare.
Today, we celebrate St John of the Cross, a very
beloved saint in our Church who led a very difficult life. John lived in the
last half of the 16th century in Spain in a very difficult time in
the life of our Church, when the faithful were dealing with the consequences of
the Protestant Reformation and when the Spanish Inquisition was deciding who
was being true to the faith. John of the Cross and his mentor, Teresa of Avila,
were Carmelites who both tried to reform their order. They wanted to bring the Carmelites back to
the humble roots of their monastic tradition. Yet, at this time in history, the Church was
very suspicious of any efforts at reform.
Ultimately, John of the Cross was persecuted and jailed by his own order
of monks for his attempts at reform. He died during his incarceration. Yet, today, the Church is able to recognize
the genius of this saint – he is now a Doctor of the Church & he is
considered one of the greatest poets of the Spanish language. As I mention, John is very beloved by many of
the faithful, and I in particular have a great devotion to him. I am fascinated by the way he expresses his
love for God in such a mystical way, how he unites his sufferings & burdens
with the sufferings that Jesus endured. John once said: “If a man wishes to be sure of
the road he treads on, he must close his eyes & walk in the dark.”
As we celebrate this wonderful Advent season, as
we prepare and wait, let us ask for the intercessions of John of the Cross and
all the saints to accompany us during this holy season.
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