It’s the Feast of St John of the Cross, Comm. St. Chrysogonus, 3rd Class, with the color of White. In this episode: the meditation: “Abusing God's Mercy”, today’s news from the Church: “Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith: Pope Francis’s Heavy Legacy”, a preview of the Sermon: “Making Reparation for Mater Populi Fidelis”, and today’s thought from the Archbishop.
Saint John of the Cross is one of the most luminous and demanding voices in Christian spirituality. Born Juan de Yepes in 1542 in a small Castilian town, he grew up amid poverty and hardship. His father died when he was young, leaving the family to struggle for daily bread. Yet from childhood he carried an inner steadiness, a quiet sense that God dwelt close even in suffering. That sense of nearness shaped his whole life. He entered the Carmelite Order as a young man, attracted by its ancient spirit of contemplation, and soon showed a brilliance in studies that surprised his teachers. Still, his deepest desire was not scholarship but silence, prayer, and the love of God.
Everything changed when he met Saint Teresa of Ávila in 1567. She was in the midst of reforming the Carmelite Order, calling it back to its roots of simplicity and contemplative life. Teresa saw in John a soul who could help restore the men’s branch of the order to the same renewal. John agreed, even though it would bring misunderstanding and danger. The reform was controversial. Many in the existing houses resisted it fiercely, and tensions soon erupted into open conflict.
In 1577, John was seized by his Carmelite opponents and imprisoned in a tiny...
