ohn was born at Fontiveros in Spain about 1542. He
entered the Carmelites and with the permission of his superiors began to live a
stricter life. Afterwards he was persuaded by St. Teresa to begin, together with
some others, the Discalced reform within the Order; this cost him much hard work
and many trials. He died in Ubeda in 1591, outstanding in holiness and wisdom,
to which his many spiritual writings give eloquent witness.
Entrance Antiphon
I should boast of nothing but
the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ; through Him the world is crucified to me,
and I to the world.
Prayer
Lord, You endowed our Father St. John of
the Cross with a spirit of self-denial and a love of the cross. By following his
example may we come to the eternal vision of Your glory. We ask this through our
Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Prayer over the Gifts
Almighty Lord, look upon
the gifts we offer in memory of our Father St. John of the Cross. May we imitate
the love we proclaim as we celebrate the mystery of the suffering and death of
Christ, Who is Lord for ever and ever.
Communion Antiphon
If anyone wishes to come
after me, he must renounce himself, take up his
cross, and follow me, says
the Lord.
Prayer after Communion
Lord God, You have shown
us the mystery of the cross in the life of our Father St. John of the Cross. May
this sacrifice make us strong, keep us faithful to Christ, and help us to work
in the Church for the salvation of all mankind. We ask this through Christ our
Lord.
First Reading
But now thus says the LORD, he
who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have
redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the
waters I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not
consume you. For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I
give Egypt as your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in exchange for you. Because you
are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you, I give men in return for
you, peoples in exchange for your life. Fear not, for I am with you; I will
bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you;
–Isaiah 43: 1-3a, 4-5
Responsorial Psalm
The night is as clear as the
day.
Ps. 138, 3, 5-6, 7-10, 11-12
Second Reading
We know that the law is
spiritual; but I am carnal, sold under sin. I do not understand my own actions.
For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I
do not want, I agree that the law is good. So then it is no longer I that do it,
but sin which dwells within me. …Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness;
for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes
for us with sighs too deep for words. And he who searches the hearts of men
knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the
saints according to the will of God. –Romans 8: 14-17, 26-27
Gospel
And now I am no more in the world, but
they are in the world, and I am coming to thee. Holy Father, keep them in thy
name, which thou hast given me, that they may be one, even as we are one.
Sanctify them in the truth; thy word is truth. As thou didst send me into the
world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate
myself, that they also may be consecrated in truth. “I do not pray for these
only, but also for those who believe in me through their word, that they may all
be one; even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be in
us, so that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. The glory which thou
hast given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I
in them and thou in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world
may know that thou hast sent me and hast loved them even as thou hast loved me.
Father, I desire that they also, whom thou hast given me, may be with me where I
am, to behold my glory which thou hast given me in thy love for me before the
foundation of the world. O righteous Father, the world has not known thee, but I
have known thee; and these know that thou hast sent me. I made known to them thy
name, and I will make it known, that the love with which thou hast loved me may
be in them, and I in them.” –John 17: 11,
17-26
