The Christ (and Poems) of St John of the Cross; Confitemini Domino

More on St John of the Cross's Sketch of Christ Crucified

Reference to the edition of St John's collected works in my possession reminded me (p.37f) that the sketch he drew of Our Lord Crucified was based a vision  of his: it shews Christ from the vantage point of the Father, looking down in love and acceptance of the sacrifice freely made by his Son, brought to the uttermost depths of sorrow and suffering for sinful man's sake.

The same text further reminded me of Dali's famous painting, apparently inspired by this image: without wishing to violate copyright, I give for reasons of comparison with its prototype a low-res. image thereof.

His Poetry

For my penance last night – though not I think sufficiently taken to my heart – I read over some of St John's poems in English translation, and was again moved by them, especially by his "Romance on the Gospel text 'In principio erat Verbum,' regarding the Blessed Trinity" (from which comes, as part 9, the text "On the Birth", below).  In the translations, familiar to me from the modern Office, they long past struck me, stuck in my mind, and bear repeating:

With the divinest Word, the Virgin 

Made pregnant, down the road 

Comes walking, if you'll grant her 

A room in your abode.  

– this one a good Advent meditation (tr. by Roy Campbell); and this ditto, and more so for Christmastide nearly upon us (tr. by E. Allison Peers):

When the ancient dispensation 

It's predestin'd course had run, 

Straight from out His bridal chamber 

Came the Bridegroom, God the Son.  

Once on earth, with arms extended 

He embrac'd His heav'nly Bride, 

And His blessèd Mother laid Him 

In the manger, at her side.  

All around that helpless baby 

Animals were standing by; 

Men sang songs of glad rejoicing; 

Angels join'd their songs on high, 

Celebrating the betrothal 

'Twixt the Bridegroom and the Bride, 

While th' Almighty, in the manger, 

As an infant, wept and cried.  

Gems these tears which human nature 

Brought to the betrothal-rite, 

And the Maid was lost in wonder 

As she witness'd such a sight.  

Man was full of joy and gladness; 

God was weeping, weak and lone.  

Ne'er before throughout the ages 

Had so strange a thing been known.

 

(What is so strange is not merely God's "weeping, weak and lone" but man's "joy and gladness" – for before the saving Incarnation, first act of the drama of salvation, the Bride – all humanity to be saved – was filled with longing and sighing, sadness and weeping at her unredeemed state and the promise afforded by hope.)

Returning to Kavanaugh and Rodriguez's translation, here is the last bit I read, St John's Suma de la Perfección:

Forgetfulness of created things, 

remembrance of the Creator, 

attention turned toward inward things, 

and loving the Beloved.  

Confitemini Domino

Confitemini Domino, quoniam bonus: quoniam in sæculum misericordia ejus.

As mentioned earlier, it is always good to go to Confession.  As a curious, wise old Dominican once said, all sacraments are primarily acts of worship, and so (citing the opening of what we would now call the penitential rite in the traditional Dominican Mass) the Sacrament of Penance rightly consists in confessing unto the Lord, confessing that the Lord is good, and that His mercy is for ever sure.  Confiteor, "I confess", has this double meaning in both tongues: to declare one's own wickedness, and to proclaim God's always-greater goodness.

Good to be shriven again.

I must remember what I know at heart: to love my neighbour is to respect him, and act accordingly: "Owe no man any thing, but to love one another... The love of our neighbour worketh no evil.  Love therefore is the fulfilling of the law."  (Rom. xiii, 8-10.)  Too often I do not act with charity.

Friday Penance

Have eaten a good steak (when having a meal with relatives one can hardly refuse what's put in front of one), so will have to do some other penance today – which I certainly need.

Tho' according to the 1962 Calendar today is a feria of Advent (preces again, yay!), at ordinary form Mass it was St John of the Cross (already celebrated on the 24th of November in the old rite – it gets very confusing, depending on what Mass one attends and which Office one says, one can end up with two celebrations of a saint, or none!).  No doubt the Carmelite nuns nearby, God bless them, will have been celebrating since 1st Vespers last night (I assume for them he's a solemnity).  To combine all this, I thought I might make the commemoration of St John of the Cross from the Carmelite tradition (the Collect is the same as the traditional Roman).  

I am too lax to have benefitted much from reading it, but do have a copy of his writings, writings that made him fit to be proclaimed a Doctor of the Church – the volume pictured shews a crucifix he himself sketched, that image of Divine Love Crucified which is truer and more instructive than any books, and the heart of the Gospel in itself.

To set the scene, a few months back, having gone for a walk with a priest friend of mine, we heard the nearby bells of the Nedlands Carmel calling.  It was 4.30pm on a Saturday, so we decided to join the good sisters for None; but upon arriving we realized it was Vespers (they were in the midst of the second psalm, but the New Testament Canticle sung next clinched it, being a feature of modern evening prayer).  

But Vespers was only the beginning!  After they finished, then there followed, as best as I can remember:

1. An antiphon, versicle, and collect in honour of St Joseph;

2. Ditto in honour of St Elias (Elijah);

3.   Ditto in honour of St Teresa of Jesus (a.k.a. of Avila);

4.  Ditto in honour of St John of the Cross (see my comments above and the text below);

5.  The Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary (a.k.a. of Loreto);

6.  The Salve Regina, with versicle and collect – all sung in Latin;

7.  The chant of the Asperges, presumably to accompany the sprinkling of holy water by Mother Prioress, again in Latin;

8.  A long prayer, Our Father, and Hail Mary, for the Pope;

9.  (After a pause) the antiphon, versicle and collect of the Holy Ghost.

We agreed that the nuns certainly liked to pray.

Here then is the commemoration of St John of the Cross, Priest, Confessor, Doctor of the Church, Co-Founder, under the direction of St Teresa, of the O.C.D.'s:

Aña.  Filii, confortamini, et viriliter agite in lege: quia in ipsa gloriosi eritis.  (I Mach. ii, 64)

V/.  Ora pro nobis, sancte pater Joannes.

R/.  Ut digni efficiamur promissionibus Christi.

Oremus.

Deus, qui sanctum Joannem, Confessorem tuum atque Doctorem, patrem nostrum, perfectæ sui abnegationis et Crucis amatorem eximium effecisti: concede; ut, ejus imitationi jugiter inhærentes, gloriam assequamur æternam.  Per Christum Dominum nostrum.  R/.  Amen. 

(Sons, be strengthened, and act manfully according to the law: for by it ye shall be glorious.

(Pray for us, holy father John – that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

(Let us pray.  O God, who made saint John, thy Confessor and Doctor, our father, an exceeding lover of perfect self-denial and the Cross, grant, that, ever sticking to his imitation, we may obtain eternal glory.  Thro' Christ our Lord.  Amen.)

It can be seen that the petition in this collect to follow in the path of self-denial and love of the Cross marked out by this saint are most appropriate today and always, for the royal road of the holy Cross (cf. Imitatio Christi) is that way by which alone, through the merits of Christ, we may enter at last into glory.  

We can rely upon the help God desires to bestow, by recalling our membership in the communion of saints, our fellowship with all who are in the grace of God, who may mutually intercede for one another in the One Mediator.  It is by humbly asking others more united to the Lord to pray for us, confessing our inadequacy of ourselves to help ourselves, "that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ".  

Only by being strong, playing the man, keeping the law, shall we be saved (thus far, the message of the antiphon, drawn from the warlike books of the Machabees of the Old Testament): and yet, greater wonder of the New Law! praise God, if we fall, we can get up, we can be healed by penance, reconciliation, conversion, receive the medicine of Christ the Physician administered by His ministers, since we can do all things in Him who strengthens us, and may rely upon His grace to restore us and fit us for the fight.

St Juan de la Cruz, beg Christ for us that he may save us, by applying to our sinful souls the infinite merits and graces of His Cross, that we may shoulder His easy yoke, and climb after Him unto the summit of holiness.