John of the Cross, Mystic and Monastic Reformer, 1591

The Collect:

Rite I:
Judge eternal, throned in splendor, who didst give John of the Cross strength of purpose and faith that sustained him even through the dark night of the soul: Shed thy light on all who love thee, in unity with Jesus Christ our Savior; who with thee and the Holy Ghost liveth and reigneth, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Rite II:
Judge eternal, throned in splendor, who gave John of the Cross strength of purpose and faith that sustained him even through the dark night of the soul: Shed your light on all who love you, in unity with Jesus Christ our Savior; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

First Lesson: 1 Kings 19:1–9

¹Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. ²Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, ‘So may the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life like the life of one of them by this time tomorrow.’ ³Then he was afraid; he got up and fled for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, which belongs to Judah; he left his servant there.

⁴But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a solitary broom tree. He asked that he might die: ‘It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my ancestors.’ ⁵Then he lay down under the broom tree and fell asleep. Suddenly an angel touched him and said to him, ‘Get up and eat.’ ⁶He looked, and there at his head was a cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. He ate and drank, and lay down again. ⁷The angel of the Lordcame a second time, touched him, and said, ‘Get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you.’ ⁸He got up, and ate and drank; then he went in the strength of that food for forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God. ⁹At that place he came to a cave, and spent the night there.

Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’

Psalm: Psalm 121

¹ I lift up my eyes to the hills; *
       from where is my help to come?
² My help comes from the Lord, *
       the maker of heaven and earth.
³ He will not let your foot be moved *
       and he who watches over you will not fall asleep.
⁴ Behold, he who keeps watch over Israel *
       shall neither slumber nor sleep;
⁵ The Lord himself watches over you; *
       the Lord is your shade at your right hand,
⁶ So that the sun shall not strike you by day, *
       nor the moon by night.
⁷ The Lord shall preserve you from all evil; *
       it is he who shall keep you safe.
⁸ The Lord shall watch over your going out and your coming in, *
       from this time forth for evermore.

Gospel: John 16:12–22

¹² ‘I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. ¹³ When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. ¹⁴ He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. ¹⁵ All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

¹⁶ ‘A little while, and you will no longer see me, and again a little while, and you will see me.’ ¹⁷ Then some of his disciples said to one another, ‘What does he mean by saying to us, “A little while, and you will no longer see me, and again a little while, and you will see me”; and “Because I am going to the Father”?’ ¹⁸ They said, ‘What does he mean by this “a little while”? We do not know what he is talking about.’ ¹⁹ Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, ‘Are you discussing among yourselves what I meant when I said, “A little while, and you will no longer see me, and again a little while, and you will see me”? ²⁰ Very truly, I tell you, you will weep and mourn, but the world will rejoice; you will have pain, but your pain will turn into joy. ²¹ When a woman is in labour, she has pain, because her hour has come. But when her child is born, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy of having brought a human being into the world. ²² So you have pain now; but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.

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