Judge eternal, throned in splendor, who gavest Juan de la Cruz strength of purpose and mystical faith that sustained him even through the dark night of the soul: Shed thy light on all who love thee, in unity with Jesus Christ our Savior; who with thee and the Holy Spirit livest and reignest, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Although hardly anyone pays attention to these feast day threads, I’ll venture a comment on this new, provisional addition to TEC’s festal calendar. I’m far from enthusiastic about the huge load of new additions of “lesser feasts” to the church calendar, since I think that way too many have been added, and some of the new additions are dubious, to say the least. Some of the new “Holy Women, Holy Men” don’t seem like exemplary models of heroic sanctity in a distinctively Christian way (some are just decent, do-gooder types).
However, the worthiness of St. John of the Cross to be added to the list is undeniable. If Theresa of Avila is already included, as she rightly is, then surely her confessor and spiritual director appropriately belongs on the list too. He is recognized by Rome as one of the 36 or so Doctors of the Church, i.e., as a teacher of universal and historic importance. Of course, the Spanish saint is best known for his profound explorations on the value of that terrible experience he called “the dark night of the soul.” Personally, I hope that the ACNA follows the lead of TEC in this particular case and joins in honoring this humble, yet remarkably holy man.
Thanks God for the life and witness of St. John of the Cross.
David Handy+
(FWIW, that’s comment 2400 for me)