--- title: "St. John of the Cross: Feast Day December 14, Life & Quotes" url: https://blessbible.app/saints/st-john-of-the-cross/ description: "St. John of the Cross, Priest and Doctor of the Church. Feast day December 14, died 1591. Read their life and their own words, with sources." --- Priest and Doctor of the Church · Feast day December 14 # St. John of the Cross The feast day of St. John of the Cross is December 14, a memorial in the US Catholic calendar. Below: a short life and 5 sourced quotations in their own words. | | | |---|---| | Feast day | [December 14](https://blessbible.app/saints/december/#14) | | In the US calendar | Memorial | | Title | Priest and Doctor of the Church | | Died | 1591 | | In their own words | [5 sourced quotations](https://blessbible.app/saints/st-john-of-the-cross/#words) | | Next on Bless’s Today screen | [Monday, December 14, 2026](https://blessbible.app/saints/st-john-of-the-cross/#calendar) | ## Life A Carmelite of Ávila who joined Teresa’s reform and paid for it: his own brethren imprisoned him nine months in a cell scarcely bigger than himself. There, in the dark, he composed some of the greatest poetry in the Spanish language. His Dark Night of the Soul and Ascent of Mount Carmel chart the soul’s purification with a surgeon’s precision. He is the Mystical Doctor of the Church. ## In their own words Each quotation names the work it comes from. Bless quotes these in the comments beside the verses listed under [In Scripture](https://blessbible.app/saints/st-john-of-the-cross/#scripture). > In the evening of life, we will be judged on love alone. — *Sayings of Light and Love, 57*, c. 1585 > Where there is no love, put love, and you will find love. — *Sayings of Light and Love, 26*, c. 1585 > To reach satisfaction in all, desire satisfaction in nothing. To come to possess all, desire the possession of nothing. — *The Ascent of Mount Carmel, I.13*, 1585 > Where have You hidden, Beloved, and left me moaning? You fled like the stag after wounding me; I went out calling You, and You were gone. — *Spiritual Canticle, stanza 1*, 1584 > The soul that walks in love neither tires others nor grows tired. — *Sayings of Light and Love, 60*, c. 1585 ## In Scripture In Bless, St. John of the Cross’s words appear in the comments beside these verses. This page’s labels say how each is linked: “on this verse” means the saint wrote about that very verse; “on this theme” means the quotation shares its theme. Scripture is quoted from the Catholic Public Domain Version. 1. On this theme Unto the end. The understanding of the sons of Korah. > As the deer longs for fountains of water, so my soul longs for you, O God. — [Psalm 41:1–2](https://blessbible.app/bible/psalms/41/#v1) · CPDV Beside their words: [“Where have You hidden, Beloved, and left me moaning? You fled like the stag after…”](https://blessbible.app/saints/st-john-of-the-cross/#q71) 2. On this theme > My beloved put his hand through the window, and my inner self was moved by his touch. — [Song of Songs 5:6](https://blessbible.app/bible/song-of-songs/5/#v6) · CPDV Beside their words: [“Where have You hidden, Beloved, and left me moaning? You fled like the stag after…”](https://blessbible.app/saints/st-john-of-the-cross/#q71) 3. On this theme > Then Jesus said to his disciples: “If anyone is willing to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. — [Matthew 16:24](https://blessbible.app/bible/matthew/16/#v24) · CPDV Beside their words: [“To reach satisfaction in all, desire satisfaction in nothing. To come to possess all…”](https://blessbible.app/saints/st-john-of-the-cross/#q70) 4. On this theme > But when the Son of man will have arrived in his majesty, and all the Angels with him, then he will sit upon the seat of his majesty. And all the nations shall be gathered together before him. And he shall separate them from one another, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he shall station the sheep, indeed, on his right, but the goats on his left. Then the King shall say to those who will be on his right: ‘Come, you blessed of my Father. Possess the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. … — [Matthew 25:31–46](https://blessbible.app/bible/matthew/25/#v31) · CPDV Beside their words: [“In the evening of life, we will be judged on love alone.”](https://blessbible.app/saints/st-john-of-the-cross/#q68) 5. On this theme > But I say to you who are listening: Love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you. — [Luke 6:27](https://blessbible.app/bible/luke/6/#v27) · CPDV Beside their words: [“Where there is no love, put love, and you will find love.”](https://blessbible.app/saints/st-john-of-the-cross/#q69) 6. On this theme > Do not allow evil to prevail, instead prevail over evil by means of goodness. — [Romans 12:21](https://blessbible.app/bible/romans/12/#v21) · CPDV Beside their words: [“Where there is no love, put love, and you will find love.”](https://blessbible.app/saints/st-john-of-the-cross/#q69) 7. On this theme > Charity suffers all, believes all, hopes all, endures all. — [1 Corinthians 13:7](https://blessbible.app/bible/1-corinthians/13/#v7) · CPDV Beside their words: [“The soul that walks in love neither tires others nor grows tired.”](https://blessbible.app/saints/st-john-of-the-cross/#q72) 8. On this theme > But for now, these three continue: faith, hope, and charity. And the greatest of these is charity. — [1 Corinthians 13:13](https://blessbible.app/bible/1-corinthians/13/#v13) · CPDV Beside their words: [“In the evening of life, we will be judged on love alone.”](https://blessbible.app/saints/st-john-of-the-cross/#q68) 2 more verses 1. On this theme > And so, let us not be deficient in doing good. For in due time, we shall reap without fail. — [Galatians 6:9](https://blessbible.app/bible/galatians/6/#v9) · CPDV Beside their words: [“The soul that walks in love neither tires others nor grows tired.”](https://blessbible.app/saints/st-john-of-the-cross/#q72) 2. On this theme > Yet truly, I consider everything to be a loss, because of the preeminent knowledge of Jesus Christ, my Lord, for whose sake I have suffered the loss of everything, considering it all to be like dung, so that I may gain Christ, — [Philippians 3:8](https://blessbible.app/bible/philippians/3/#v8) · CPDV Beside their words: [“To reach satisfaction in all, desire satisfaction in nothing. To come to possess all…”](https://blessbible.app/saints/st-john-of-the-cross/#q70) ## In the calendar The upcoming dates, through December 31, 2028, when Bless’s Today screen shows St. John of the Cross. Where the US calendar keeps another celebration that day, it is named instead and no rank is given. | Date | In the US calendar | Color | Mass readings (US) | |---|---|---|---| | [Monday, December 14, 2026](https://blessbible.app/calendar/2026/12/14/) | St. John of the Cross, Priest and Doctor of the Church (Memorial) | White | Numbers 24:2-7, 15-17a · Psalm 25:4-5ab, 6 and 7bc, 8-9 · Psalm 85:8 · Matthew 21:23-27 | | [Tuesday, December 14, 2027](https://blessbible.app/calendar/2027/12/14/) | St. John of the Cross, Priest and Doctor of the Church (Memorial) | White | Zephaniah 3:1-2, 9-13 · Psalm 34:2-3, 6-7, 17-18, 19 and 23 · Matthew 21:28-32 | | [Thursday, December 14, 2028](https://blessbible.app/calendar/2028/12/14/) | St. John of the Cross, Priest and Doctor of the Church (Memorial) | White | Isaiah 41:13-20 · Psalm 145:1 and 9, 10-11, 12-13ab · See Isaiah 45:8 · Matthew 11:11-15 | Readings Reading citations through May 31, 2027 are as published in the USCCB liturgical calendar. Later citations were computed by Bless from the US Lectionary cycle — confirm with your parish. [December 13 St. Lucy](https://blessbible.app/saints/st-lucy/) [December 15 St. Maria Crocifissa Di Rosa](https://blessbible.app/saints/st-maria-crocifissa-di-rosa/) [All the saints of December](https://blessbible.app/saints/december/) [Born on December 14?](https://blessbible.app/saints/birthday/#12-14) [A saint for every day](https://blessbible.app/saints/) Spotted a mistake in a date, a patronage or a quotation? [Report an error](https://blessbible.app/support/#report) and we’ll fix it in the app and here. St. John of the Cross Feast day December 14 On this page 1. [Life](https://blessbible.app/saints/st-john-of-the-cross/#life) 2. [In their own words](https://blessbible.app/saints/st-john-of-the-cross/#words) 3. [In Scripture](https://blessbible.app/saints/st-john-of-the-cross/#scripture) 4. [In the calendar](https://blessbible.app/saints/st-john-of-the-cross/#calendar) In the app Bless shows a saint every day on its Today screen, with their life and their words. Free on iPhone.