Saint John De Avila

On January 25, 2021, Pope Francis ordered the inscription of Saint John De Avila, Priest and Doctor of the Church, into the General Roman Calendar.  St. John is celebrated each year as an Optional Memorial on May 10.

The Holy See released the proper liturgical texts in Latin (see pages 4-6), and on September 30, 2024, the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments confirmed the English translation of those texts. (An approval and confirmation process is still required for a Spanish translation.)

The proper texts in English for the liturgical celebration of St. John De Avila are provided below:

Roman Missal

From the Common of Pastors: For One Pastor, or the Common of Doctors of the Church.

Collect

O God, who gave to your clergy and people Saint John De Avila,
a teacher outstanding for the holiness and zeal of his life,
grant, we pray, that in our own time
the Church may increase in holiness
by the exceptional devotion of your ministers.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.

Lectionary for Mass

Aside from the usual Mass readings of the day, any Lectionary readings from the Common of Pastors or Common of Doctors of the Church may be used for St. John De Avila. The following readings are also recommended by the Holy See, and will appear in a future edition of the Lectionary for Mass. (Current citations from the Lectionary's Common of Pastors and Common of Doctors of the Church are provided for convenience.)

561/1 – Saint John De Avila, Priest and Doctor of the Church

From the Common of Pastors, or the Common of Doctors of the Church, or:

First Reading – Acts 13:46-49 (no. 720-1)
We now turn to the Gentiles.

Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 23:1-3a, 4, 5, 6 (no. 721-2)
R/. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

Gospel Acclamation – Matthew 5:16 (no. 729-1)
Let your light shine before others,
that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.

Gospel – Matthew 5:13-19 (no. 730-1)
You are the light of the world.

Liturgy of the Hours

From the Common of Pastors: For Priests or the Common of Doctors of the Church.

Biography

John was born about 1500 at Almodovar del Campo in Spain. Ordained to the priesthood, he journeyed throughout southern Spain, preaching Christ. Through his prolific writings, he demonstrated to priests the nature and great import of the Council of Trent, which was notable for its call to renewal. Unjustly accused of heresy, he fled neither trial nor prison, all the more fervently explaining Catholic doctrine. Banished in his final years to Montilla in the Diocese of Cordoba, he fell asleep in the Lord on May 10, 1569.

Office of Readings

Second Reading
From the writings of Saint John De Avila, Priest and Doctor of the Church
(Tractatus de amore Dei erga nos, 1. 2. 4: Madrid 2004)

The love of Christ, his face ever turned toward the Father

The source which draws our heart more completely to the love of God is the vision of the deepest love with which God himself burns for us, and his most blessed Son, our Lord, burns with him. By this, the heart is drawn toward loving rather than rewards: a benefactor may give what he possesses, but a lover offers himself with all that he possesses, so that there is nothing left for him to give.

Now, let us therefore explore, O Lord, whether you love us, and, if you do, how great must be your love toward us.

Parents greatly love their children, but do you truly love us as a father loves? We have not entered the bosom of your heart, my God, that we might be able to perceive all that is there. But your Only Begotten Son, who descended from that bosom, brought the signs of these things, and commanded us to call you Father because of the infinite love with which you loved us. For as you alone are good by the eminence of your sovereign kindness, so you alone are Father; thus, you do such great things that no one may stand before the very depths of your fatherhood and in the same sense be called father.

And if you, dear reader, still lack trust in this great love, consider all the blessings that God has granted you, because they are all pledges and witnesses of his love. Consider how numerous these blessings are, and you will see that whatever exists in the heavens and on the earth, even your body and its organs, every hour and moment of your life, are all blessings bestowed by the Lord. Consider also how much good counsel you have received, the good things that you have had in this life, and even the dangers that you have escaped in this life, and the diseases and punishments which could have overtaken you had he not set you free. These are all clear signs of love for you. And finally, turn your eyes toward this whole world which was created only for your good and, together with all creatures within it, demonstrates love, proclaims love, and makes you a sharer in love.

And now let us see also how great is the love with which the Son he gave us has burned for us. No tongue is worthy to speak of it! Some lacking knowledge and understanding still cannot experience this love, which, in their opinion, results from the perfection of the one being loved.

The love of Christ, however, does not arise from a perfection inherent in us, but from that which Christ possesses, namely a face ever turned toward the Father.

Responsory
Cf. Eph 3:18-19; Jn 3:16

May you have strength to comprehend the love of Christ that surpasses all understanding,
— And be filled with all the fullness of God, alleluia.

For God so loved the world that he gave his Only Begotten Son,
so that all who believe in him may not perish, but may have eternal life:
— And be filled with all the fullness of God, alleluia.

Prayer

O God, who gave to your clergy and people Saint John De Avila,
a teacher outstanding for the holiness and zeal of his life,
grant, we pray, that in our own time
the Church may increase in holiness
by the exceptional devotion of your ministers.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.

Excerpts from the English translation of Liturgical Texts for Doctors of the Church © 2023 International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation. All rights reserved.