It may seem strange to think of the cross during a season that prepares us for Christmas. But Jesus invites us to take his yoke upon our shoulders. As his disciples we are invited to embrace the cross, and so find life in losing it.
St. John of the Cross is a saint who lived the cross almost literally. A sixteenth-century Spanish priest who worked with St. Teresa of Avila to reform their Carmelite Order, John met resistance and persecution and spent many months in the darkness of a prison cell. His experience opened him to a profound understanding of the darkness of the soul, the power of mortification, and the challenges of embracing the cross. He articulated his spiritual journey in works such as his Ascent to Mt. Carmel. As spiritual director and theologian (he was later named a doctor of the church), John—in his mystical prose and poetry—teaches an important dimension of Christian life.
While the rigors of John’s life may not be our path, all of us can benefit from learning how God met him in the darkness of his soul, in times of suffering and loss, and in the denial of self, which Jesus tells us is absolutely essential if we are to be his disciples.
—adapted from the book Advent with the Saints: Daily Reflections
by Greg Friedman, OFM
