St. John of the Cross, Doctor

We have come to the day of John of the Cross. Today we think of him, read him, meditate on him, and talk to him. Today we honor John of the Cross for what he suffered at the hands of his own monastic brothers. And, recall those dark and lonely months in his cell. The crucible that God used to transformed John.

He spent nine months in a cell not a whole lot bigger than he was. It was dark most of the time, and what light was admitted to the room came from a window far too high on the wall to be of much use to him. Weekly, he was taken before the monastic community and lashed in front of them all. Oh, and while he was there, he wrote most of the Spiritual Canticle. Now, think of his living conditions and read the following.

O you soul, then, most beautiful of creatures, who so long to know the place where your Beloved is, that you may seek Him, and be united to Him, you know now that you are yourself that very tabernacle where He dwells, the secret chamber of His retreat where He is hidden. Rejoice, therefore, and exult, because all your good and all your hope is so near you as to be within you; or, to speak more accurately, that you can not be without it, “for lo, the kingdom of God is within you.” So says the Bridegroom Himself, and His servant, St. Paul, adds: “You are the temple of the living God.” What joy for the soul to learn that God never abandons it, even in mortal sin; how much less in a state of grace! (Italics are my own)

Even on my best days I am not sure such an openness of spirit is within me, much less were I in a prison like his. His suffering was so deep and blatant that in order to cling to sanity he had to cling to God. God saved John of the Cross, because John found God inside himself, giving positive proof for the psalmist's question "Where can I hide from your spirit?" Nowhere! God is present, keep silence.
Honor John of the Cross today.