Fasten Our Eyes on Christ Alone

Advent is a time of prayer and preparation to receive Christ our Lord at His birth, when miraculously, “…the Word became flesh…”(Jn 1:14). For many of us, this season will encourage us to spend more time reading scripture, listening to Advent reflections, and learning more about the lives of the saints for guidance and direction. Have you ever stopped to think about who your favorite saint looked up to for guidance? Pope St. John Paul II had a close devotion to St. John of the Cross who was a co-founder of the first Discalced Carmelite Monastery along with St. Teresa of Avila. He was also a Spanish poet, Christian mystic, and Doctor of the Church. He is the patron saint of love, loyalty, friendships, and authors. His feast day is celebrated on December 14^th because he died on December 14, 1591.

The Holy Father often expressed his thanks to St. John of the Cross through whom he was first introduced to the world of the “interior life” of prayer. At the beginning of his pontificate, John Paul II stated, that as he drew closer to this saint, he truly learned how to pray. Through his writings, the pope also discovered the truths about human dignity. This in turn encouraged Pope St. John Paul II to become a fierce defender and protector of all lives. When visiting St. John’s tomb and relics on November 4, 1982, JPII confessed that St. John of the Cross, “became a friend who always showed me a shining light in the darkness and led me to God.”

St. John of the Cross’ teachings were pervasive in the preaching of Pope St. John Paul II. This was evident when the Pope spoke about the meaning of human dignity on December 14, 1984, (on the memorial of St. John’s feast day) after celebrating mass in his private papal chapel. The liturgy on that day included the words of the prophet Isaiah: “Do not fear for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name: you are mine” (Is 43:1). From these words of sacred scripture, and the writings of St. John,  JPII reflected on the dignity of the human person by asserting, “Today a lot is said and written about human dignity. Often one wants to give himself freedom that is misunderstood because freedom from commandments, from the Gospel, from moral principles, and less often there is no talk of the rooting of human dignity and his freedom in the Mystery of God. It was St. John of the Cross, contemplative of God and his works, who had a great sense of human dignity and directly admonished man not to diminish his dignity as a child of God by his preferences. St. John of the Cross was demanding on the paths of asceticism and evangelical renunciation because he knew that man was created for great things, and that he is dear in God’s eyes and should belong only to God!”

Pope St. John Paul II referred to St. John of the Cross in several ways, including as a personal friend and his spiritual guide. He studied closely his writings, poems, and teachings and expressed that he helped to form his prayer life as St. John of the Cross was to him, “a living testimony to what the interior life is, or rather who a man can be (both inside and outside) if he allows God to act in him.” He also thought of this saint as a seeker of the truth, and a guide to the fullness of Christian life and faith.

In the The Ascent of Mount Carmel (Ch. 22, no. 5) St. John of the Cross exhorted, “Those who now desire to question God are guilty of not only foolish behavior, but also of offending him by not fixing their eyes entirely on Christ and by living with the desire for some other novelty. God could answer them as follows, If I have already told you about all things in my Word, my Son, and if I have no other word what answer or revelation can I now make that would surpass this? Fasten your eyes on Him alone, because in Him I have spoken and revealed all. In Him you will discover even more than you ask for and desire!”

St. John of the Cross additionally expressed a longing for more love in this world. He once affirmed, “In the twilight of life, God will not judge us on our earthly possessions and human success, but rather on how much we have loved.” He taught that God is the source of all love and that God’s love is not static, but always in motion and engaging with us. He believed that people should show love for God daily by showing love to those in their own lives.

Therefore, in the hectic hustle and bustle of this Advent season, let us follow Pope St. John Paul II’s lead and contemplate the words of St. John of the Cross to Fasten our eyes on Christ alone, as in Him, we will discover much more than we ask for and desire!

*For further reading:  St. John of the Cross’ major works are: The Dark Night, Ascent of Mount Carmel, Spiritual Canticle and Living Flame of Love. He is known as the Doctor of the Dark Night. That is an inaccurate description. His dark night was only a means to the greater end of transforming union in love. He is a “Doctor of Love” as the late Father Kieran Kavanaugh, OCD would entitle one of his books. Only if we see him in this light, will we cease to be afraid of him and his doctrine (Taken from Sr. Helena of Mary-Carmelite Newsletter: The Power of Love in Saint John of the Cross).

Written by,
Dena Reany,
Sales & Implementation Specialist-West
for Ruah Woods Institute