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About our Patron Saint,
Saint John Of The Cross
Saint John Of The Cross
©2011
MichaelJay Design
MichaelJay Design
The parish of St. John Of The Cross, Euclid, Ohio, was established on November 29,
2009. The new parish was formed by the merging of St. Felicitas & St. Paul parishes,
Euclid, Ohio, as part of the reconfiguration of the Cleveland Catholic Diocese. The
parish is located at the St. Felicitas Church campus.
The name was selected by Bishop Richard Lennon from a suggested list compiled from each merging parish. Below is some informatiom about St. John Of The Cross.
A virtual tour of the church will be coming soon.
The name was selected by Bishop Richard Lennon from a suggested list compiled from each merging parish. Below is some informatiom about St. John Of The Cross.
A virtual tour of the church will be coming soon.
After John joined the Carmelites, Saint Teresa of Avila asked him to help her reform
the order. John supported her belief that the order should return to its life of prayer.
But many Carmelites felt threatened by this reform, and some members of John's
own order kidnapped him. He was locked in a completely dark cell six feet by ten
feet. He was able to pray the Divine Office only when a ray of sunlight penetrated
through the tiny slit window high on the wall and able to write what became some of
his greatest works after a compassionate jailer offered him writing materials and a
candle.
The cell was bitterly cold in the winter and stifling in the summer. John was half starved, covered with vermin, and flogged to induce him to give up his reformation efforts. Yet in that unbearable dark and desolation, his love and faith were like fire and light. He had nothing left but God -- and God brought John his greatest joys in that tiny cell.
After nine months, in August of 1578, John escaped by unscrewing the lock on his door and creeping past the guard. Taking only the mystical poetry he had written in his cell, he climbed out a window using a rope made of two small rugs, Barefoot and exhausted, he made his way to the Carmelite nuns. He hid from pursuers in a convent infirmary where he read his poetry to them. From then on his life was devoted to sharing and explaining his experience of God's love.
His life of poverty and persecution could have produced a bitter cynic. Instead it gave
birth to a compassionate mystic, who lived by the beliefs that "Who has ever seen
people persuaded to love God by harshness?" and "Where there is no love, put love --and you will find love."
The cell was bitterly cold in the winter and stifling in the summer. John was half starved, covered with vermin, and flogged to induce him to give up his reformation efforts. Yet in that unbearable dark and desolation, his love and faith were like fire and light. He had nothing left but God -- and God brought John his greatest joys in that tiny cell.
After nine months, in August of 1578, John escaped by unscrewing the lock on his door and creeping past the guard. Taking only the mystical poetry he had written in his cell, he climbed out a window using a rope made of two small rugs, Barefoot and exhausted, he made his way to the Carmelite nuns. He hid from pursuers in a convent infirmary where he read his poetry to them. From then on his life was devoted to sharing and explaining his experience of God's love.
His life of poverty and persecution could have produced a bitter cynic. Instead it gave
birth to a compassionate mystic, who lived by the beliefs that "Who has ever seen
people persuaded to love God by harshness?" and "Where there is no love, put love --and you will find love."
St. John of the Cross (1542-1591)
Spanish mystic, Carmelite friar and priest
Spanish mystic, Carmelite friar and priest
Born in Spain in 1542, John learned the importance of
self-sacrificing love from his parents. His father gave up
wealth, status, and comfort when he married a weaver's
daughter and was disowned by his noble family. After his father died, his mother kept the destitute family together as they wandered homeless in search of work. These were the examples of sacrifice that John followed with his own great love -- God.
daughter and was disowned by his noble family. After his father died, his mother kept the destitute family together as they wandered homeless in search of work. These were the examples of sacrifice that John followed with his own great love -- God.
When the family finally found work, John still went hungry
in the middle of the wealthiest city in Spain. At fourteen, John took a job caring for
hospital patients who suffered from incurable diseases and madness. It was out of
this poverty and suffering, that John learned to search for beauty and happiness not
in the world, but in God.
Saint John Of The Cross
140 Richmond Rd,
Euclid, Ohio 44143
Euclid, Ohio 44143
A Roman Catholic Community
In The Diocese Of Cleveland
est. 2009
In The Diocese Of Cleveland
est. 2009
216-289-0770
www.saintjohnofthecross.org
www.saintjohnofthecross.org