St. John of the Cross, Priest & Doctor of the Church
Numbers 24:2-7,15-17  +  Matthew 21:23-27
December 14, 2020

He guides the humble to justice, / he teaches the humble his way.

Today is the feast day of St. John of the Cross.  He died on this date in 1591.  It’s common for the church to celebrate the feast of a saint on the date of his or her date of death, inasmuch as the Church considers that date the saint’s “birthday into Heaven” (in Latin, the “dies natalis”).  Still, in the midst of Advent we could hardly have a more fitting modern saint to show us what it means to wait for the coming of the Lord with patience.

In the midst of turmoil throughout the Church in the sixteenth century caused by unfaithful Catholics and by unfaithful reformers, St. John of the Cross worked with St…