Blessed Kuriakos Elias Chavara, co-founder and first prior general of the congregation of the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate, was born at Kainakary in Kerala, India, February 10^th, 1805.  He entered the seminary in 1818, and was ordained a priest in 1829.  He made his religious profession in 1855, in the congregation he founded.  In 1861 he was named vicar general for the Syro-Malabar church; in this capacity he defended ecclesial unity threatened by schism when mar Tomas Rochos was sent from Mesopotamia to consecrate Nestorian bishops.  Throughout his life he worked for the renovation of the church in Malabar.  He was also co-founder in 1866 of the congregation of the Sisters of the Mother of Carmel.  Above all, he was a man of prayer, zealous for the Eucharistic Lord and devoted to the Immaculate Virgin Mary.  He died at Koonammavu in 1871.  His body was transferred to Mannanam in 1889.

From the Common of Pastors or of Men Saints (Religious)

Office of Readings

The Second Reading

From a note written on the day of his death, by his spiritual director Fr. Leopold Beccaro.

Today, Tuesday, January 3, 1871, at 7:15 in the morning, Fr. Cyriac (Kuriakos) Elias of the Holy Family, the first Prior, died after a life of great innocence.  He could declare before his death he had never lost his baptismal innocence.  He was exercising himself in the practice of virtues, especially in simplicity of heart, living faith, tender obedience, and devotion to the Most Blessed Sacrament, to the Blessed Virgin Mary and to St. Joseph.  He has undergone immense hardships for the good of the Christians of Malabar, especially during the time of the schism of Rochos, when he, having been appointed vicar general of the Syrians, showed his extraordinary devotion to the Holy See.  He fought day and night to arrest the spread of schism from which he would save no less than forty parishes.  On this account the Holy Father Pope Pius IX sent him a letter expressing his great satisfaction.  He was the founder and the first Prior of the Carmelites of Malabar.  He founded also the convent of nuns after undergoing many hardships.  On account of his endearing virtues, learning and profound knowledge of the Syriac language he enjoyed great influence on the Syrians of Malabar.  He was always greatly loved by the Vicars Apostolic of Malabar, and even more by the people of Malabar, the gentiles and Nestorians not excluded.  He endured his last illness for two years in a spirit of great resignation, nay with joy.  He was detached from all disorderly affections for earthly things, which was all the more true in the last days of his life.  Having received the last sacraments with extraordinary piety and devotion, in a heavenly joy, and amidst the tears of all who knew him, especially my own, who knew him even as myself, he breathed his last at the age of sixty-five and was buried in the church of St. Philomena at Kounammavu.  O holy and beautiful soul, pray for me.

R:    You adorned my soul with all graces * so that the angels too may find joy in that.
V:    You took care, besides, that my name might be inscribed in the book of life * so that the angels too may find joy in that.

Lord God,
you raised up Blessed Kuriakos Elias your priest
to strengthen the unity of the Church.
Grant that through his intercession
we may be enlightened by the Holy Spirit
to read the signs of the times with wisdom
and spread the news of the Gospel
by both word and example.
We ask this through our Lord.

Blessed Mary of the Angels

Born in Turin, Italy, in 1661, she died, after spending her whole life there, in 1717. In 1675 she entered the Discalced Carmelite Convent of St. Christina, and several times filled the offices of Prioress and Novice Mistress. She underwent continual spiritual trials, but was constant in her ardent love of God. She was outstandingly faithful to prayer and particularly devoted to St. Joseph, in whose honor a convent was founded through her good offices at Moncalieri.

From the Common of Virgins

Office of Readings

Second Reading MS Valladolid c. 40:3, 7, 8

A reading from The Way of Perfection by St. Teresa of Jesus
Anyone who really loves God, loves everything good, wants everything good, stands up for everything good, praises everything good, always sides with good people and supports them and defends them. People like this only love what is genuine and things that deserve to be loved. Do you think anyone who really and truly loves God could love anything worthless? Of course not–things like money or worldly trinkets or pleasures or honors: they are not going to fight about things like that, or be envious over them! Why? Because all they bother about is pleasing their Beloved. They are dying for his love, so their whole lives are devoted to finding out how to please him more. And as for concealing the fact–why, if it’s genuine, love for God is impossible to hide! All you need to do is to look at St. Paul, or the Magdalen. One of them, St. Paul, only took three days to realize he was ill with love; the Magdalen knew the first day. And how well they understood it! But there’s this about it: there can be more, or less love. And the way to tell how strong it is, is this: if there is not much it will not be very obvious, but it will if there is a lot. But however much there is, the love of God will always show itself. How could such a strong, right, ever-increasing love ever be hidden–a love that will admit no reason for not loving, a love based on the fact that it has been repaid with another love which is beyond all doubt because it has been openly proved by such great pain and suffering and blood- shed, and the loss of life itself so as not to leave the slightest doubt about its reality? May God be pleased to give us love like that before he takes us from this life! What a wonderful thing it will be, when we die, to know we are going to be judged by the one we have loved above all else! We won’t have to worry about being charged with our sins, and we won’t be going to a foreign country, but home, because it belongs to the one we have loved so much, and who loves us.

Responsory

R: The Lord grants the desires of those who fear Him; He hears their cry and He saves them. * The Lord protects all who love Him.

V: We know that God makes all things work together for the good of those who love Him. * The Lord protects all who love Him.

Morning Prayer

Benedictus

To love God is to be truly wise, and wisdom begins with the fear of the Lord.

Prayer

Lord, you have told us that you live for ever in the hearts of the chaste. By the prayers of the virgin Blessed Mary of the Angels help us to live by your grace and to become temples of your Spirit. Grant this through our Lord.

Evening Prayer

Magnificat

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.

Saint John of the Cross

John was born at Fontiveros in Spain about 1542.  He entered the Carmelites and with the permission of his superiors began to live a stricter life.  Afterwards he was persuaded by Saint Teresa to begin, together with some others, the Discalced reform within the Order; this cost him much hard work and many trials.  He died in Ubeda in 1591, outstanding in holiness and wisdom, to which his many spiritual writings give eloquent witness.  

Evening Prayer I

Hymn

Soldier of the King eternal, valiant warrior, hail to thee!
Column raised to heights supernal in unshaken majesty.
We revere your glorious merits and the tide of homage wells
From the fountain of our spirits heav’nward rising as it swells.  

Thou hast felt the strong protection of the Virgin Mother’s power,
Saving thee with sweet election in the dread and dangerous hour.
Since thy youth she never swerveth in her watchful care of thee
And forever she preserveth him who vowed her slave to be.  

Chosen offspring of our Mother, in her labors thou didst share,
Aiding her as son and brother Carmel’s beauty to repair,
Ruined shrine and temple raising from the dust of slow decay,
Mary’s honor meetly praising in the dawn of fairer day.  

Lo, the Cross, thy weapon glorious as on Calvary’s height of yore,
When our Jesus reigned victorious, fallen nature to restore.
So thy burning love retrieveth glory of an ancient race,
And by suffering achieveth marvels of renewing grace.  

To the Trinity be praises for the grace on you conferred:
Light and life from God the Father in the myst’ry of his Word;
Gifts poured forth from God the Spirit over all the ways you trod;
With the Book of Life spread open, secrets from the Lamb of God.
87.87.D.                                                Tr. unknown  

Psalmody

Ant. 1  He opened his mouth in prayer, and the Lord filled him with the spirit of understanding.
  Psalm 112 (113)

Praise, O servants of the Lord,
praise the name of the Lord!
May the name of the Lord be blessed
both now and for evermore!
From the rising of the sun to its setting
praised be the name of the Lord!

High above all nations is the Lord,
above the heavens his glory.
Who is like the Lord, our God,
who has risen on high to his throne
yet stoops from the heights to look down,
to look down upon heaven and earth?

From the dust he lifts up the lowly.
from his misery he raises the poor
to set him in the company of princes,
yes, with the princes of his people.
To the childless wife he gives a home
and gladdens her heart with children.

Ant. 1  He opened his mouth in prayer, and the Lord filled him with the spirit of understanding.

Ant. 2  The Lord gave him treasures out of the darkness, and riches that had been hidden away.

Psalm 145 (146)

My soul, give praise to the Lord;
I will praise the Lord all my days,
make music to my God while I live.

Put no trust in princes,
in mortal men in whom there is no help.
Take their breath, they return to clay
and their plans that day come to nothing.

He is happy who is helped by Jacob’s God,
whose hope is in the Lord his God,
who alone made heaven and earth,
the seas and all they contain.

It is he who keeps faith for ever,
who is just to those who are oppressed.
It is he who gives bread to the hungry,
the Lord, who sets prisoners free,

the Lord who gives sight to the blind,
who raises up those who are bowed down,
the Lord, who protects the stranger
and upholds the widow and orphan.

It is the Lord who loves the just
but thwarts the path of the wicked.
The Lord will reign for ever,
Zion’s God, from age to age.

Ant. 2  The Lord gave him treasures out of the darkness, and riches that had been hidden away.

Ant. 3  No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no human heart has conceived all that God has prepared for those who love him.
Rev 4:11; 5:9, 10, 12

Worthy are you, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they existed and were created.

Worthy are you, O Lord,
to take the scroll and open its seals,
for you were slain,
and by your blood you ransomed men for God
from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.

You have made us a kingdom and priests to our God,
and we shall reign on earth.

Worthy is the Lamb who was slain,
to receive power and wealth,
and wisdom and might,
and honor and glory and blessing.

Ant. 3  No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no human heart has conceived all that God has prepared for those who love him.

Scripture Reading                                 Eph 3:14-19

I fall on my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth receives its true name.  I ask God, from the wealth of his glory to give you power through his Spirit to be strong in your inner selves, and I pray that Christ will make his home in your hearts through faith.  I pray that you may have your roots and foundation in love, so that you, together with all God’s people, may have the power to understand how broad and long, how high and deep, is Christ’s love.  Yes, may you come to know his love – although it can never be fully known – and so be completely filled with the very nature of God.

Short Responsory

R:        The God who brought light out of darkness * has shone in our hearts.  Repeat R:
V:        To give the light of knowledge of God’s glory that appears in the face of Christ * and has shone in our hearts.
Glory…  R:  

Magnificat

I sought wisdom in my prayer; I found it abundantly within myself, and it prospered my journeying.

Intercessions

Christ our Redeemer inspired our Father Saint John of the Cross to follow him, and raised him to the heights of contemplation.  Let us praise our Lord, and say:

R:        Glory to you for ever!
Christ our God, you taught your servant John the science of the Cross;
— kindle the fire of your love in those to whom you have entrusted the teaching and government of your Church.  R:
Christ, unfailing light, you reveal yourself in the night of faith to the poor in spirit;
— let your face shine on all those who seek you in poverty amid the darkness of this world.  R:
Christ, our only teacher, you disclose your highest secrets to those who love and seek you;
— grant the consummation of your love to those you have called to serve you in Carmel.  R:
Christ, triumphant in heaven in the midst of all your saints,
— grant everlasting rest and peace in your glory to all our departed brothers and sisters.  R:  

Our Father…

Prayer as in Morning Prayer  

Invitatory

Ant.    Jesus Christ is the only Word of the Father; come let us adore him.

Office of Readings

Hymn

O Saint more blessed than tongue can say
Who walked the ways our Savior trod
And bore his cross along the way
That leads to peace and rest in God.

Be near us when temptation calls
And keep us true for evermore.
Bring light when sin’s dark shadow falls
And guide us home to heaven’s door.

O Saint of Christ’s redeeming Cross,
The road of life is dark and long;
When sorrow comes, and pain and loss,
Teach us to be resigned and strong.

Oh, win for us the joy of grace,
The light of love, the peace of prayer,
That we may reach God’s dwelling-place
and live with you forever there.
L.M.                                        Brian O’Higgins

Psalmody

Ant.1    God chose us to be conformed to the image of his Son.
Psalm 15 (16)

Preserve me, God, I take refuge in You.
I say to the Lord: ‘You are my God.
My happiness lies in you alone.’

He has put into my heart a marvelous love
for the faithful ones who dwell in His land.
Those who choose other gods increase their sorrows.
Never will I offer their offerings of blood.
Never will I take their name upon my lips.

O Lord, it is you who are my portion and cup,
it is you yourself who are my prize.
The lot marked out for me is my delight:
welcome indeed the heritage that falls to me!

I will bless the Lord who gives me counsel,
who even at night directs my heart.
I keep the Lord ever in my sight:
since he is at my right hand, I shall stand firm.

And so my heart rejoices, my soul is glad;
even my body shall rest in safety.
For you will not leave my soul among the dead,
nor let your beloved know decay.

You will show me the path of life,
the fullness of joy in your presence,
at your right hand happiness for ever.

Ant.1    God chose us to be conformed to the image of his Son.

Ant.2    Among you I claimed to know nothing save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
Psalm 33 (34)
I
I will bless the Lord at all times,
His praise always on my lips;
in the Lord my soul shall make its boast.
The humble shall hear and be glad.

Glorify the Lord with me.
Together let us praise his name.
I sought the Lord and he answered me;
from all my terrors he set me free.

Look towards him and be radiant;
let your faces not be abashed.
This poor man called; the Lord heard him
and rescued him from all his distress.

The angel of the Lord is encamped
around those who revere him, to rescue them.
Taste and see that the Lord is good.
He is happy who seeks refuge in him.

Revere the Lord, you his saints.
They lack nothing, those who revere him.
Strong lions suffer want and go hungry
but those who seek the Lord lack no blessing.

Ant.2    Among you I claimed to know nothing save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.

Ant.3    For me, to live is Christ, to die is gain.
II
Come, children, and hear me
that I may teach you the fear of the Lord.
Who is he who longs for life
and many days, to enjoy his prosperity?

Then keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from speaking deceit.
Turn aside from evil and do good,
seek and strive after peace.

The Lord turns his face against the wicked
to destroy their remembrance from the earth.
The Lord turns his eyes to the just
and his ears to their appeal.

They call and the Lord hears
and rescues them in all their distress.
The Lord is close to the broken-hearted;
those whose spirit is crushed he will save.

Many are the trials of the just man
but from them all the Lord will rescue him.
He will keep guard over all his bones,
not one of his bones shall be broken.

Evil brings death to the wicked,
those who hate the good are doomed.
The Lord ransoms the souls of his servants.
Those who hide in him shall not be condemned.

Ant.3    For me, to live is Christ, to die is gain.

V:    In you, Lord, is the fount of life.
R:    It is your light that enlightens us.

The First Reading                            Col 1:11-29

A reading from the Letter of St. Paul to the Colossians

May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.  He has delivered us from the dominion of darkness and transferred to us the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or authorities – all things were created through him and for him.  He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.  He is the head of the body, the Church; he is the beginning, the first-born from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.  For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

And you, who once were estranged and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and irreproachable before him, provided that you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which has been preached to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the Church, of which I became a minister according to the divine office which was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now made manifest to his saints.  To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.  Him we proclaim, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man mature in Christ.  For this I toil, striving with all the energy which he mightily inspires within me.

Responsory

R:    This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; * listen to him.
V:    In many and varied ways God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us in his Son. * Listen to him.

Second Reading (Alternative 1)                B, st. 37,36

A reading from the Spiritual Canticle of St. John of the Cross

However numerous are the mysteries and marvels which holy doctors have discovered and saintly souls understood in this earthly life, all the more is yet to be said and understood.  There is much to fathom in Christ, for he is like an abundant mine with many recesses of treasures, so that however deep men go they never reach the end or bottom, but rather in every recess find new veins with new riches everywhere.  On this account St. Paul said of Christ:  ’In Christ dwell hidden all treasures and wisdom.’  The soul cannot enter these caverns or reach these treasures if, as we said, she does not first pass over to the divine wisdom through the straits of exterior and interior suffering.  For one cannot reach in this life what is attainable of these mysteries of Christ without having suffered much, and without having received numerous intellectual and sensible favors from God and without having undergone much spiritual activity; for all these favors are inferior to the wisdom of the mysteries of Christ in that they serve as preparations for coming to this wisdom.

Oh! If we could but now fully understand how a soul cannot reach the thicket and wisdom of the riches of God, which are of many kinds, without entering the thicket of many kinds of suffering, finding in this her delight and consolation; and how a soul with an authentic desire for divine wisdom, wants suffering first in order to enter this wisdom by the thicket of the cross!  Accordingly, St. Paul admonished the Ephesians not to grow weak in their tribulations and to be strong and rooted in charity in order to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and height and depth, and to know also the supereminent charity of the knowledge of Christ, in order to be filled with all the fullness of God.

The gate entering into these riches of His wisdom is the cross, which is narrow, and few desire to enter by it, but many desire the delights obtained from entering there.

Responsory

R:    What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, things beyond our imagining–all that         God has prepared for those who love Him: * these are the very things that God has         revealed to us thought the Spirit.
V:    The Spirit reaches the depths of everything, even the depths of God: * these are the very things that God has revealed to us through the Spirit.

The Second Reading (Alternative 2)            B, st. 5

A reading from the Spiritual Canticle of St John of the Cross

Created things in themselves, as Saint Augustine testifies, give testimony to God’s grandeur and excellence.  For God created all things with remarkable ease and brevity, and in them he left some trace of who he is, not only in giving all things being from nothing, but even by endowing them with innumerable graces and qualities, making them beautiful in a wonderful order and unfailing dependence on one another.  All of this he did through his own wisdom, the Word, his only begotten Son by whom he created them.

Saint Paul says: ‘The Son of God is the splendor of his glory and the image of his substance.’  It should be known that only with this figure, his Son, did God look at all things, that is he communicated to them their natural being and many natural graces and gifts, and made them complete and perfect, as is said in Genesis:  ’God looked at all things that he made, and they were very good.’  To look and behold that they were very good was to make them very good in the Word, his Son.

Not only by looking at them did he communicate natural being and graces, as we said, but also with this image of his Son alone, he clothed them in beauty by imparting to them supernatural being.  This he did when he became man and elevated human nature in the beauty of God and consequently all creatures, since in human nature he was united with them all.  Accordingly, the Son of God proclaimed: ‘If I be lifted up from the earth, I will elevate all things to me.’  And in this elevation of all things through the Incarnation of his Son and through the glory of his resurrection according to the flesh, the Father did not merely beautify creatures partially, but rather we can say, clothed them wholly in beauty and dignity.

Responsory

R:    You will not deprive me, Lord, of what you have given me in Christ, * for in Christ you have given me everything.
V:    The heavens are mine, the earth is mine; mine are the people, mine the just, mine the sinners, the angels are mine and the Virgin Mother is mine, * for in Christ you have given me everything.

TE DEUM

Prayer as at Morning Prayer

Morning Prayer

Hymn

Let us together
Up the high mountain
Go where the weather
Keeps a June glow.
You in your beauty,
I in your beauty,
Earth in your beauty,
Where’er we go.

Up past the steepest
Cliffs of our striving,
Up from the deepest
Thickets of pain
Where darkness bound you,
Ravaged and slew you,
Till daybreak found you,
Risen again.

Haste then our going
Up the high mountain,
Pure water flowing
Down from the height,
Wind in the spruces,
Light on the aspens,
Fruit of sweet juices –
All give delight.

Deep caverns holding
Secrets of heaven,
Summits unfolding
Myst’ries divine,
Nightingale singing,
Grove lit with beauty –
Each new day bringing
Taste of new wine.

Sweet the ascending
Up the high mountain,
Sweeter the ending –
Love spread abroad.
Everyone sharing
Grace of your image.
Everyone bearing
The beauty of God.
54.54.D                                     Up the High Mountain                          
                                                Miriam of the Holy Spirit, O.C.D.  

Psalmody

Ant.1   Truly you are a hidden God, O God of Israel, our Savior
                                                    Psalms and Canticle from Sunday, Week 1

Ant.2   All things are yours, for you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.

Ant.3   With gratitude in your hearts sing spiritual songs to God.

Scripture Reading                                 2 Cor 3:17-18

The Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.  And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being changed into his likeness from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

Short Responsory

R:        Your light will shine in the darkness * and the darkness will be as noon.
Repeat R:
V:        The Lord will fill your soul with his splendor, * and the darkness will be as noon.
Glory…  R: 

Benedictus

While you have the light, believe in the light, and you will be children of light.

Intercessions

Jesus Christ, the head and bridegroom of his Church makes us joyful today on this feast of John of the Cross, his servant.  Let us say to him:

R:        You are the king of glory, O Christ.
Only Word of the Father, uttered eternally in the eternal silence, and in the fullness of time received in the Virgin’s womb;
— may we hear your words today in the depths of our hearts, and put them into practice.  R.
Wisdom of the Father, you showed your great love for us by emptying yourself in the Incarnation and on the Cross;
— may we, who have been redeemed by your blood, remain always in closest communion with you.              R.
Perfect Image of God, in whom all the mysteries of eternal love are revealed and given to us,
— by the work of your Holy Spirit may we ascend from brightness to brightness into your inaccessible light.  R.
Supreme Delight of the Father, in whom God looks mercifully on all men;
— make us perfect in compassion as our heavenly Father is perfect.  R.
First-born of all creation, through you the Father in his goodness created and re-created all things,
— may our thoughts and our hearts today rise up from what we can see to contemplate your unseen beauty, so that through our voices all creatures may give praise to your name.  R.  

Our Father…

Prayer

Lord, you endowed St. John of the Cross
with a spirit of self-denial and love of the cross.
By following his example
may we come to the eternal vision of your glory.
We ask this through our Lord.

Prayer during the Day

The complementary psalms are used.

Before Noon

Ant.     If anyone wishes to be a follower of mine, he must deny himself; he must take up his cross and come with me.

Scripture Reading                                 Eph 4:23-24

Your hearts and minds must be made completely new, and you must put on the new self, which is created in God’s likeness and reveals itself in the true life that is upright and holy.

V:        A pure heart create for me, O God.
R:        Put a steadfast spirit within me.

Midday

Ant.            Whoever would draw near to God must believe; the righteous live by faith.

Scripture Reading                                 Rom 5:1-2

Since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.  Through him we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in our hope of sharing the glory of God.

V:        I live by faith in the Son of God.
R:        Who loved me and gave himself for me.

Afternoon

Ant.     Your strength will lie in silence and hope.

Scripture Reading                                 Rom 8:24-25

It was by hope that we were saved; but if we see what we hope for, then it is not really hope.  For who hopes for something he sees?  But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
V:        The Lord is good to those who trust in him.
R:        To the soul who seeks him.

Evening Prayer II

Hymn

Saint of the eagle eye,
Gazing enrapt on high
Mid dread abysses of Divinity;
Martyr by heart’s intent,
Virgin yet penitent,
Prophet and guide in realms of mystery.  

Oft in your life, ‘tis told
Sweet converse you did hold
With the pure Virgin and her Son divine;
Thence came the wondrous light
Flooding with glory bright
Your mystic page, for wisdom there did shine.  

Clearly do you reveal
Secrets the clouds conceal
For you have seeped your soul in rays above,
Pondering the mountain height,
Darkness of faith’s long night
And the reviving flame of mystic love.  

When by God’s holy will
His word do you instill,
Wondrous the marvels by the soul divined,
Like Him evoking light
From chaos deep as night
Cheering with healthful beams the darkened mind.  

O John, your praise intone
Prostrate before the throne!
The Father signed you with a light most true,
Gifts of the Spirit shine
And the meek Lamb divine
Opens the Book of Life to your pure view.
6.10.6.6.10                                            Boston Carmel  

Psalmody

Ant. 1  God loved us so much that he brought us to life with Christ.                                                                                                

 Psalm 14 (15)

Lord, who shall be admitted to your tent
and dwell on your holy mountain?

He who walks without fault;
he who acts with justice
and speaks the truth from his heart;
he who does not slander with his tongue;

he who does no wrong to his brother,
who casts no slur on his neighbor,
who holds the godless in distain,
but honors those who fear the Lord;

he who keeps his pledge, come what may,
who takes no interest on a loan
and accepts no bribes against the innocent.
Such a man will stand firm forever.

Ant. 1  God loved us so much that he brought us to life with Christ.

Ant. 2  We have known and put our faith in the love God has for us.

Psalm 111 (112)

Happy the man who fears the Lord,
who takes delight in all his commands.
His sons will be powerful on earth;
the children of the upright are blessed.

Riches and wealth are in his house;
his justice stands firm forever.
He is a light in the darkness for the upright:
he is generous, merciful and just.

The good man takes pity and lends,
he conducts his affairs with honor.
The just man will never waver:
he will be remembered for ever.

He has no fear of evil news;
with a firm heart he trusts in the Lord.
With a steadfast heart he will not fear;
he will see the downfall of his foes.

Open-handed, he gives to the poor;
his justice stands firm forever.
His head will be raised in glory.

The wicked man sees and is angry,
grinds his teeth and fades away;
the desire of the wicked leads to doom.

Ant. 2  We have known and put our faith in the love God has for us.

Ant. 3  The love of God is poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Canticle:  Eph 1:3-10

Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blessed us in Christ,
with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.

He chose us in him
before the foundation of the world
that we should be holy
and blameless before him.

He destined us in love
to be his sons through Jesus Christ,
according to the purpose of his will,
to the praise of his glorious grace
which he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.

In him we have redemption through his blood,
the forgiveness of our trespasses,
according to the riches of his grace
which he lavished upon us.

He has made known to us
in all wisdom and insight
the mystery of his will,
according to his purpose
which he set forth in Christ.

His purpose he set forth in Christ,
as a plan for the fullness of time,
to unite all things in him,
things in heaven and things on earth.

Ant. 3  The love of God is poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Scripture Reading               1 Cor 13:8-10, 12-13: 14:1a

Love is eternal.  There are inspired messages, but they are temporary; there are gifts of speaking in strange tongues, but they will cease; there is knowledge, but it will pass.  For our gifts of knowledge and of inspired messages are only partial; but when what is perfect comes, then what is partial will disappear.  What we see now is like a dim image in a mirror; then we shall see face to face.  What I know now is only partial; then it will be complete – as complete as God’s knowledge of me.  Meanwhile these three remain:  faith, hope and love; and the greatest of these is love.  It is love, then, that you should strive for.

Short Responsory

R:        Love is as strong as death: * it flashes forth like flames of fire.  Repeat R:
V:        Who can separate us from the love of Christ?            * It flashes forth like flames of fire.
Glory…  R:  

Magnificat

Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, so that the love with which you loved me may be in them, and that I may be in them.

Intercessions

God the Father has given us his Spirit through Jesus Christ his beloved Son, so that we may be partakers in the divine nature and witnesses to his love in the Church.

Let us praise him and say:

R:            Through the intercession of St. John, hear us, O Lord.
Give your Church the living faith that will lead all men and women to seek you;
— and bring them to the closest union with you.  R:
Give the hope of heaven to all who are faithful in seeking you;
— may they obtain all that they hope for.  R:
Pour out your love upon us;
— that where there is no love we may put love and so draw love out.  R:
May all Carmelites be imitators of the Virgin Mary, Mother of our Order;
— may we follow every inspiration of the Holy Spirit.  R:
Give final purification to all our departed brothers and sisters;
— so that they may sing without delay the song of love with your saints in heaven.  R:

Our Father…

Prayer

Lord,
you endowed our Father St. John of the Cross
with a spirit of self-denial and love of the cross.
By following his example
may we come to the eternal vision of your glory.
We ask this through our Lord.

St. John of the Cross

Day 1:  Monday, December 5, 2011

Beginning Prayer to be said each day:

O glorious St. John of the Cross, through a pure desire of being like Jesus crucified, you longed for nothing so eagerly as to suffer, to be despised, and to be made little of by all; and your thirst after sufferings was so burning that your noble heart rejoiced in the midst of the cruelest torments and afflictions. Grant, I beseech you, O dear Saint, by the glory which your many sufferings have gained for you, to intercede for me and obtain from God for me a love of suffering, together with strength and grace to bear with firmness of mind all the trials and adversities which are the sure means to the happy attainment of all that awaits me in heaven.

Dear Saint, from your most happy place in glory, hear, I beseech you, my prayers, so that after your example, full of love for the cross I may deserve to be your companion in glory. Amen.

First Day: Unwavering Faith

Prayer:

My glorious father St. John of the Cross; overflowing with love for Mary and for the cross of her divine Son by which you merited to become the protector of afflicted souls, obtain for me from Jesus and Mary, I beseech you, an unwavering faith and a love of the cross so deep and so valiant that no possible misfortune will ever be able to separate me from the love of my God. Obtain for me also the special grace I ask through your intercession during this novena if it be for the glory of God and for my salvation (make request).

Three Our Fathers and three Hail Marys.

Day 2:  Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Beginning Prayer to be said each day:

O glorious St. John of the Cross, through a pure desire of being like Jesus crucified, you longed for nothing so eagerly as to suffer, to be despised, and to be made little of by all; and your thirst after sufferings was so burning that your noble heart rejoiced in the midst of the cruelest torments and afflictions. Grant, I beseech you, O dear Saint, by the glory which your many sufferings have gained for you, to intercede for me and obtain from God for me a love of suffering, together with strength and grace to bear with firmness of mind all the trials and adversities which are the sure means to the happy attainment of all that awaits me in heaven.

Dear Saint, from your most happy place in glory, hear, I beseech you, my prayers, so that after your example, full of love for the cross I may deserve to be your companion in glory. Amen.

Second Day: Spirit of Penitence

Prayer:

Glorious St. John of the Cross, you preserved to death in unspotted brilliancy the radiant whiteness of your baptismal innocence, while nevertheless practicing the most cruel and persevering penance. In honor and imitation of this crucifying love, I entreat you that I may share your mortified and penitential life so that, even in this world, I may receive the grace to atone for my many sins, purify my soul, and acquire merit, that I may also enjoy heaven’s glory with you. Obtain for me also the special grace I ask through your intercession during this novena, if it be for the glory of God and for my salvation (make request).

Three Our Fathers and three Hail Marys.

Day 3:  Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Beginning Prayer to be said each day:

O glorious St. John of the Cross, through a pure desire of being like Jesus crucified, you longed for nothing so eagerly as to suffer, to be despised, and to be made little of by all; and your thirst after sufferings was so burning that your noble heart rejoiced in the midst of the cruelest torments and afflictions. Grant, I beseech you, O dear Saint, by the glory which your many sufferings have gained for you, to intercede for me and obtain from God for me a love of suffering, together with strength and grace to bear with firmness of mind all the trials and adversities which are the sure means to the happy attainment of all that awaits me in heaven.

Dear Saint, from your most happy place in glory, hear, I beseech you, my prayers, so that after your example, full of love for the cross I may deserve to be your companion in glory. Amen.

Third Day: Holy Enlightenment

Prayer:

O my beloved father St. John of the Cross, your continual prayer merited for you the name of Ecstatic Doctor, favored with special graces in the guidance and direction of souls. I humbly beg you to enlighten my soul and to give me a relish for holy meditation that, detached from earthly things, I may love God alone and desire heaven only. Obtain for me also the special grace I ask through your intercession during this novena, if it be for the glory of God and for my salvation (make request).

Three Our Fathers and three Hail Marys.

Day 4:  Thursday, December 8, 2011

Beginning Prayer to be said each day:

O glorious St. John of the Cross, through a pure desire of being like Jesus crucified, you longed for nothing so eagerly as to suffer, to be despised, and to be made little of by all; and your thirst after sufferings was so burning that your noble heart rejoiced in the midst of the cruelest torments and afflictions. Grant, I beseech you, O dear Saint, by the glory which your many sufferings have gained for you, to intercede for me and obtain from God for me a love of suffering, together with strength and grace to bear with firmness of mind all the trials and adversities which are the sure means to the happy attainment of all that awaits me in heaven.

Dear Saint, from your most happy place in glory, hear, I beseech you, my prayers, so that after your example, full of love for the cross I may deserve to be your companion in glory. Amen.

Fourth Day: Holy Patience

Prayer:

Great St. John of the Cross, model of patience and generosity, for the glory of God and for the propagation of the holy reform of Carmel, you endured grievous trials and undertook heavy labors, finding, as did St. Paul, joy in opprobrium. Obtain from our Lord for me the grace of unalterable patience in adversity that I may thereby glorify God, have cleansed my souls of every stain, advance in the practice of solid virtue, and obtain at last the crown promised to those who suffer for the love of God. Obtain for me also the special grace I ask through your intercession during this novena, if it be for the glory of God and for my salvation (make request).

Three Our Fathers and three Hail Marys.

Day 5:  Friday, December 9, 2011

Beginning Prayer to be said each day:

O glorious St. John of the Cross, through a pure desire of being like Jesus crucified, you longed for nothing so eagerly as to suffer, to be despised, and to be made little of by all; and your thirst after sufferings was so burning that your noble heart rejoiced in the midst of the cruelest torments and afflictions. Grant, I beseech you, O dear Saint, by the glory which your many sufferings have gained for you, to intercede for me and obtain from God for me a love of suffering, together with strength and grace to bear with firmness of mind all the trials and adversities which are the sure means to the happy attainment of all that awaits me in heaven.

Dear Saint, from your most happy place in glory, hear, I beseech you, my prayers, so that after your example, full of love for the cross I may deserve to be your companion in glory. Amen.

Fifth Day: Protection from Temptation

Prayer:

Dear St. John of the Cross, you exercised dominion over the powers of hell, often obliging them to relinquish the souls, as well as the bodies of their victims. Have compassion on me; ask God to preserve me from the temptations and deceits of these wicked spirits, not only throughout my life, but above all at the hour of my death, that persevering to the end in the grace and love of God, I may possess Him with you forever. Obtain for me also the special grace I ask through your intercession during this novena, if it be for the glory of God and for my salvation (make request).

Three Our Fathers and three Hail Marys.

Day 6:  Saturday, December 10, 2011

Beginning Prayer to be said each day:

O glorious St. John of the Cross, through a pure desire of being like Jesus crucified, you longed for nothing so eagerly as to suffer, to be despised, and to be made little of by all; and your thirst after sufferings was so burning that your noble heart rejoiced in the midst of the cruelest torments and afflictions. Grant, I beseech you, O dear Saint, by the glory which your many sufferings have gained for you, to intercede for me and obtain from God for me a love of suffering, together with strength and grace to bear with firmness of mind all the trials and adversities which are the sure means to the happy attainment of all that awaits me in heaven.

Dear Saint, from your most happy place in glory, hear, I beseech you, my prayers, so that after your example, full of love for the cross I may deserve to be your companion in glory. Amen.

Sixth Day: Purity of Soul and Body

Prayer:

Great St. John of the Cross, favored by our Lord and the glorious Virgin, His mother, in reward for your angelic life and with the precious gift of chastity, you converted many souls held captive by the most shameful passions. Obtain for me some share in so priceless a gift that, pure and chaste in soul and body, I may reach heaven where nothing stained may enter and where choirs of virgins follow the Lamb wherever He goes. Obtain for me also the special grace I ask through your intercession during this novena, if it be for the glory of God and for my salvation (make request).

Three Our Fathers and three Hail Marys.

Day 7:  Sunday, December 11, 2011

Beginning Prayer to be said each day:

O glorious St. John of the Cross, through a pure desire of being like Jesus crucified, you longed for nothing so eagerly as to suffer, to be despised, and to be made little of by all; and your thirst after sufferings was so burning that your noble heart rejoiced in the midst of the cruelest torments and afflictions. Grant, I beseech you, O dear Saint, by the glory which your many sufferings have gained for you, to intercede for me and obtain from God for me a love of suffering, together with strength and grace to bear with firmness of mind all the trials and adversities which are the sure means to the happy attainment of all that awaits me in heaven.

Dear Saint, from your most happy place in glory, hear, I beseech you, my prayers, so that after your example, full of love for the cross I may deserve to be your companion in glory. Amen.

Seventh Day: Humility

Prayer:

Blessed father St. John of the Cross, in you was joined the most profound humility to the most sublime knowledge of the ways of God. Obtain for me real humility of heart, making me love humiliation and contempt that, despairing worldly vanity, I may learn from you to esteem only God and heavenly things. Obtain for me also the special grace I ask through your intercession during this novena, if it be for the glory of God and for my salvation (make request).

Three Our Fathers and three Hail Marys.

Day 8:  Monday, December 12, 2011

Beginning Prayer to be said each day:

O glorious St. John of the Cross, through a pure desire of being like Jesus crucified, you longed for nothing so eagerly as to suffer, to be despised, and to be made little of by all; and your thirst after sufferings was so burning that your noble heart rejoiced in the midst of the cruelest torments and afflictions. Grant, I beseech you, O dear Saint, by the glory which your many sufferings have gained for you, to intercede for me and obtain from God for me a love of suffering, together with strength and grace to bear with firmness of mind all the trials and adversities which are the sure means to the happy attainment of all that awaits me in heaven.

Dear Saint, from your most happy place in glory, hear, I beseech you, my prayers, so that after your example, full of love for the cross I may deserve to be your companion in glory. Amen.

Eighth Day: Comfort in Affliction

Prayer:

St. John of the Cross, my glorious protector, in your lifetime you were the father of the poor, the consoler of the afflicted and the assured refuge of the suffering; you worked miracles of charity for all, miracles which you repeat even now by means of your holy images and relics. Deign also to be my consoler and my father; comfort me in my sorrows and aid me to see in every cross a pledge of divine mercy that, through the cross, I may gain heaven. Obtain for me, too, the special grace I ask through your intercession during the novena, if it be for the glory of God and for my salvation (make request).

Three Our Fathers and three Hail Marys.

Day 9:  Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Beginning Prayer to be said each day:

O glorious St. John of the Cross, through a pure desire of being like Jesus crucified, you longed for nothing so eagerly as to suffer, to be despised, and to be made little of by all; and your thirst after sufferings was so burning that your noble heart rejoiced in the midst of the cruelest torments and afflictions. Grant, I beseech you, O dear Saint, by the glory which your many sufferings have gained for you, to intercede for me and obtain from God for me a love of suffering, together with strength and grace to bear with firmness of mind all the trials and adversities which are the sure means to the happy attainment of all that awaits me in heaven.

Dear Saint, from your most happy place in glory, hear, I beseech you, my prayers, so that after your example, full of love for the cross I may deserve to be your companion in glory. Amen.

Ninth Day: Holy Abandonment

Prayer:

O my loving father St. John of the Cross, to imitate more perfectly our Lord, you generously renounced every consolation, even the spiritual; prayed to suffer and to be despised for God’s sake; and finally died suffering, happy to be condemned by men. Obtain for me the grace of abandonment to the Will of God that, placing all my joy and my hope in the passion of my Savior, I may at last rest eternally with you in His glory. Obtain for me also the special grace I ask through your intercession during this novena, if it be for the glory of God and for my salvation (make request).

Three Our Fathers and three Hail Marys

Sts. Denis and Redemptus

Denis of the Nativity, a priest, called in the world Pierre Berthelot, was born in Honfleur in France in 1600.  He was a cartographer and naval commander for the kings of Portugal and France before he joined the Discalced Carmelites in Goa in 1635.  It was also at Goa that the Portuguese lay brother, Thomas Rodriguez da Cunha, born in 1598, had made his profession in 1615, taking the name Redemptus of the Cross.  They were sent to the island of Sumatra, where, in the town of Achen, they received the martyr’s crown on November 29^th, 1638. 
From the Common of Several Martyrs  

Office of Readings

Second Reading                                                Bk 2, Ch 7:5

From The Ascent of Mount Carmel by Saint John of the Cross

‘If anyone wishes to follow my way, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me.  For he who would save his soul shall lose it, but he who loses it for me shall gain it.’

Oh, who can make this counsel of Our Savior understandable and practicable and attractive, that spiritual persons might become aware of the difference between the method many of them think is good and that which ought to be used in traveling this road!

They are of the opinion that any kind of withdrawal from the world or reformation of life suffices.  Some are content with a certain degree of virtue, perseverance in prayer, and mortification, but never achieve the nakedness, poverty, selflessness, or spiritual purity (which are all the same) that the Lord counsels us here.  For they still feed and clothe their natural selves with spiritual feelings and consolations rather than divesting and denying themselves of these for God’s sake.

Through this kind of conduct they become, spiritually speaking, enemies of the cross of Christ.

A genuine spirit seeks the distasteful in God rather than the delectable, leans more toward suffering than toward consolation, more toward going without everything for God rather than toward possession.  It prefers dryness and affliction to sweet consolation.  It knows that this is the significance of following Christ and denying self, that the other method is perhaps a seeking of self in God—something entirely contrary to love.

If a man resolutely submits to the carrying of this cross, if he decidedly wants to find and endure trial in all things for God, he will discover in all of them great relief and sweetness.  A man makes progress only through imitation of Christ, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  No one goes to the Father but through him.  This way is nothing other than a death to our natural selves.

Responsory

R:    If anyone wishes to follow my way, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.  * Whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
V:    They have persecuted me, and they will persecute you. * Whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

Morning Prayer

Benedictus

Blessed are you when you are persecuted on my account:  rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.  

Prayer

Father,
we celebrate the memory
of Blesseds Denis and Redemptus
who died for their faithful witnessing to Christ.
Give us the strength to follow their example,
loyal and faithful to the end.
We ask this through our Lord.  

Evening Prayer

Magnificat

They loved Christ in their lives and imitated him in their death:  and so they reign with him for ever.