Advent Reflections 2024

 

  I have written a little about St. John of the Cross before (in https://herethewaking.blogspot.com/2023/10/dark-night-of-soul.html for example). His feast day is celebrated on 14th December and he is a patron saint of mystics and contemplatives.

John has another link to Advent as he was imprisoned by fellow Carmelite monks in a monastery in Toledo on the 2nd December 1577 in a cell so small he could barely lie on the floor. He was fed only bread and water, with occasional scraps of salt fish, and was lashed weekly, again by his fellow monks. He was imprisoned because of his efforts (along with St. Teresa of Avila) to reform the Carmelite order and restore the observance of a simple, more austere life. 

And yet it was in that small cell that John began to compose the poem for which he is probably best known, ‘The Dark Night of the Soul’, first by memorising the words and later, thanks to a kind gaoler, by writing them down. Nine months later he escaped, with the manuscript of the poem!

It begins (when translated into English): 

“One dark night,
fired with love’s urgent longings
— ah, the sheer grace! —
I went out unseen,
my house being now all stilled.”

A link to the whole poem is given below.

The poem is about the journey of the soul towards union with God and, for John, darkness was a place of discovery and an essential part of that journey.

I just have a small and hopefully useful reminder to make here. It seems to me that Advent is a good time for reflecting on the journey of the soul, however you think of that and in whatever way makes sense to you, perhaps inspired by John’s poem.

The days of Advent, if we find time for quiet reflection, can bring us inner stillness (which is what John was referring to when he wrote, “my house being now all stilled”) and tranquility, as a restful break from the mad dash of commercialism and materialism; a few peaceful moments to focus on what really matters in life.

Vaya con Dios!

Source

The Dark Night of the Soul by St. John of the Cross (n.d.). Accessed October 5, 2023. https://makeheaven.com/st-john-of-the-cross.html

Key words

Advent, dark, God, night, soul, union,

Image

Advent in Great Malvern Priory

Link

https://herethewaking.blogspot.com/2024/11/advent-reflections-2024.html

Location: Great Malvern, Malvern WR14, UK

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