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Introduction:  Félix Lope de Vega y Carpio (1562-1635) was one of literature's most prolific writers, a monument of the Spanish Golden Age; among his many works are hundreds of plays and poems, including multiple epics, as well as some novels.  Though he had a variety of lovers and mistresses, he was ordained a priest in 1614, and many of his poems are religious.  Among them is the collection Romancero Espiritual ( Spiritual Romance-Book , a romance  being a type of Spanish folk ballad).  Below are the opening lines of one of these romances , "On the Solitude of Our Lady."  I find the sharp contrasts of these opening lines quite effective as their own poem, separated from the full romance .  They are also fitting lines for Great and Holy Friday.  The source is Lope  Félix  de Vega Carpio, Obras Escogidas , ed. Federico Carlos Sainz de Robles (Madrid: Aguilar, 1953) , II:124. From Romancero Espiritual XVIII "On the Solitude of Our Lady" L...

  Introduction:  St. John of Ávila (1499-1569) overlapped with the famous Spanish Carmelites, Teresa of  Ávila  and John of the Cross, but he was himself a diocesan priest and preacher, not a religious.  He travelled throughout Andalusia preaching and drawing large crowds; he became the first rector of the University of Baeza; he tried to found a community of apostolic priests, but his burgeoning plans were bowled over by the quick spread of the Jesuits.  Though far less known than his Carmelite compatriots, he was named a Doctor of the Church by the late Pope Benedict XVI in 2012.  Among his writings are copious sermons and letters, a few Bible commentaries, and some treatises.  Below is the first part of a sermon given for Holy Thursday; the source is Obras Completas de Beato Juan de  Ávila , ed. Luis Sala Balust (Madrid: La Editorical Catolica, S.A., 1953), II:489-494. Sermon 34: Incorporated into Christ through Communion, We Possess ...

Introduction Raoul (also known by the Latinized forms Radulfus or Radulphus) was born to a noble family in the Diocese of Poitiers, France, perhaps in the village of Beaulieu, near Bressuire.  According to some, he was born in the first half of the 11th century, became a priest and then court preacher of Guillaume (William) IX, count of Poitiers and duke of Aquitaine, considered the first troubadour, and died shortly after joining Guillaume on the Crusade of 1101.  More recent research, though, says that Raoul flourished in the 1190s, was a follower of the theologian Gilbert of Poitiers, and court chaplain of Richard I of England, the Lionheart.  (Richard I was the younger brother of a different William IX, count of Poitiers, which may have assisted in the confusion.)    Raoul left a large collection of homilies, on the Epistles and Gospels for the various feast days of the year, among other occasions.  He also wrote a long, unfinished treatise of systemati...