Advent II, 2021 — Vision

SCRIPTURE

Arise, O Jerusalem, stand upon the height;
look toward the east,
and see your children gathered from west and east
at the word of the Holy One,
rejoicing that God has remembered them.
For they went out from you on foot,
led away by their enemies;
but God will bring them back to you,
carried in glory, as on a royal throne.
For God has ordered that every high mountain and the everlasting hills be made low
and the valleys filled up, to make level ground,
so that Israel may walk safely in the glory of God.
The woods and every fragrant tree
have shaded Israel at God’s command.
For God will lead Israel with joy,
in the light of his glory,
with the mercy and righteousness that come from him.

Baruch 5:5-9

READING

I live, but not in myself,
and I have such hope
that I die because I do not die.

• I no longer live within myself
  and I cannot live without God,
  for having neither him nor myself
  what will life be?
  It will be a thousand deaths,
  longing for my true life
  and dying because I do not die.
• When I try to find relief
  seeing you in the Sacrament,
  I find this greater sorrow:
  I cannot enjoy you wholly.
  All things are affliction
  since I do not see you as I desire,
  and I die because I do not die.
• And if I rejoice, Lord,
  in the hope of seeing you,
  yet seeing I can lose you
  doubles my sorrow.
  Living in such fear
  and hoping as I hope,
  I die because I do not die.
• Lift me from this death,
  my God, and give me life;
  do not hold me bound
  with these bonds so strong;
  see how I long to see you;
  my wretchedness is so complete
  that I die because I do not die.

Saint John of the Cross

Poetry, 5: Stanzas of the soul that suffers with longing to see God (excerpts)

All scripture references are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America as accessed from the Bible Gateway website.

John of the Cross, St. 1991, The Collected Works of St. John of the Cross, Revised Edition, translated from the Spanish by Kavanaugh, K and Rodriguez, O with revisions and introductions by Kavanaugh, K, ICS Publications, Washington DC.