Posted on 12/27/2006 10:13:57 AM PST by Salvation
Feast of Saint John, Apostle and Evangelist
Reading 1
1 Jn 1:1-4
Beloved:
What was from the beginning,
what we have heard,
what we have seen with our eyes,
what we looked upon
and touched with our hands
concerns the Word of life—
for the life was made visible;
we have seen it and testify to it
and proclaim to you the eternal life
that was with the Father and was made visible to us—
what we have seen and heard
we proclaim now to you,
so that you too may have fellowship with us;
for our fellowship is with the Father
and with his Son, Jesus Christ.
We are writing this so that our joy may be complete.
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 97:1-2, 5-6, 11-12
R. (12) Rejoice in the Lord, you just!
The LORD is king; let the earth rejoice;
let the many isles be glad.
Clouds and darkness are around him,
justice and judgment are the foundation of his throne.
R. Rejoice in the Lord, you just!
The mountains melt like wax before the LORD,
before the LORD of all the earth.
The heavens proclaim his justice,
and all peoples see his glory.
R. Rejoice in the Lord, you just!
Light dawns for the just;
and gladness, for the upright of heart.
Be glad in the LORD, you just,
and give thanks to his holy name.
R. Rejoice in the Lord, you just!
Gospel
Jn 20:1a and 2-8
On the first day of the week,
Mary Magdalene ran and went to Simon Peter
and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them,
“They have taken the Lord from the tomb,
and we do not know where they put him.”
So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb.
They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter
and arrived at the tomb first;
he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in.
When Simon Peter arrived after him,
he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there,
and the cloth that had covered his head,
not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place.
Then the other disciple also went in,
the one who had arrived at the tomb first,
and he saw and believed.
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INVOCATION
O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.
TO THE VIRGIN IMMACULATE
O Virgin Immaculate, Mother of God and my Mother, from thy sublime height turn upon me thine eyes of pity. Filled with confidence in thy goodness and knowing full well thy power, I beseech thee to extend to. me thine assistance in the journey of life, which is so full of dangers for my soul. And in order that I may never be the slave of the devil through sin, , but may ever live with my heart humble and pure, I entrust myself wholly to thee. I consecrate my heart to thee for ever, my only desire being to love thy divine Son Jesus. Mary, none of thy devout servants has ever perished; may I too be saved. Amen.
PRAYER OF PRAISE
O pure and immaculate and likewise blessed Virgin, who art the sinless Mother of thy Son, the mighty Lord of the universe, thou who art inviolate and altogether holy, the hope of the hopeless and sinful, we sing thy praises. We bless thee, as full of every grace, thou who didst bear the God-Man: we all bow low before thee; we invoke thee and implore thine aid. Rescue us, 0 holy and inviolate Virgin, from every necessity that presses upon us and from all the temptations of the devil. Be our intercessor and advocate at the hour of death and judgment; deliver us from the fire that is not extinguished and from the outer darkness; make us worthy of the glory of thy Son, O dearest and most clement Virgin Mother. Thou indeed art our only hope, most sure and sacred in God's sight, to whom be honor and glory, majesty and dominion for ever and ever world without end. Amen.
Saint Ephrem the Syrian
PRAYER OF POPE PIUS XII
This prayer, dedicated to Mary Immaculate, was composed by the Pope for the Marian Year (December 8, 1953-December 8, 1954), which was proclaimed to mark the centenary of the definition of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception.
Enraptured by the splendor of your heavenly beauty, and impelled by the anxieties of the world, we cast ourselves into your arms, 0 Immacuate Mother of Jesus and our Mother, Mary, confident of finding in your most loving heart appeasement of our ardent desires, and a safe harbor from the tempests which beset us on every side.
Though degraded by our faults and overwhelmed by infinite misery, we admire and praise the peerless richness of sublime gifts with which God has filled you, above every other mere creature, from the first moment of your conception until the day on which, after your assumption into heaven, He crowned you Queen of the Universe.
O crystal fountain of faith, bathe our minds with the eternal truths! O fragrant Lily of all holiness, captivate our hearts with your heavenly perfume! 0 Conqueress of evil and death, inspire in us a deep horror of sin, which makes the soul detestable to God and a slave of hell!
O well-beloved of God, hear the ardent cry which rises up from every heart. Bend tenderly over our aching wounds. Convert the wicked, dry the tears of the afflicted and oppressed, comfort the poor and humble, quench hatreds, sweeten harshness, safeguard the flower of purity in youth, protect the holy Church, make all men feel the attraction of Christian goodness. In your name, resounding harmoniously in heaven, may they recognize that they are brothers, and that the nations are members of one family, upon which may there shine forth the sun of a universal and sincere peace.
Receive, O most sweet Mother, our humble supplications, and above all obtain for us that, one day, happy with you, we may repeat before your throne that hymn which today is sung on earth around your altars: You are all-beautiful, O Mary! You are the glory, you are the joy, you are the honor of our people! Amen.
Prayer Source: Prayer Book, The by Reverend John P. O'Connell, M.A., S.T.D. and Jex Martin, M.A., The Catholic Press, Inc., Chicago, Illinois, 1954
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From: 1 John 1:1-4
Prologue
From: John 20:1a, 2-8
The Empty Tomb
| First reading | 1 John 1:1 - 4 © |
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| Something which has existed since the beginning, that we have heard, and we have seen with our own eyes; that we have watched and touched with our hands: the Word, who is life – this is our subject. That life was made visible: we saw it and we are giving our testimony, telling you of the eternal life which was with the Father and has been made visible to us. What we have seen and heard we are telling you so that you too may be in union with us, as we are in union with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. We are writing this to you to make our own joy complete. |
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| Psalm or canticle: Psalm 96 |
| Gospel | John 20:2 - 8 © |
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| Mary of Magdala came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved. ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb’ she said ‘and we don’t know where they have put him.’ So Peter set out with the other disciple to go to the tomb. They ran together, but the other disciple, running faster than Peter, reached the tomb first; he bent down and saw the linen cloths lying on the ground, but did not go in. Simon Peter who was following now came up, went right into the tomb, saw the linen cloths on the ground, and also the cloth that had been over his head; this was not with the linen cloths but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in; he saw and he believed. |
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O God, come to my aid.
O Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen. Alleluia.
A suitable hymn may be inserted at this point.
| Psalm 18 (19) |
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| Praise of God the creator |
| The skies tell the story of the glory of God, the firmament proclaims the work of his hands; day pours out the news to day, night passes to night the knowledge. Not a speech, not a word, not a voice goes unheard. Their sound is spread throughout the earth, their message to all the corners of the world. At the ends of the earth he has set up a dwelling place for the sun. Like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, it rejoices like an athlete at the race to be run. It appears at the edge of the sky, runs its course to the sky’s furthest edge. Nothing can hide from its heat. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. |
| Psalm 63 (64) |
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| A prayer against enemies |
| Listen, O God, to my voice; keep me safe from fear of the enemy. Protect me from the alliances of the wicked, from the crowd of those who do evil. They have sharpened their tongues like swords, aimed poisonous words like arrows, to shoot at the innocent in secret. They will attack without warning, without fear, for they are firm in their evil purpose. They have set out to hide their snares – for they say, “Who will see us?” They have thought out plans to commit wicked deeds, and they carry out what they have planned. Truly the heart and soul of a man are bottomless depths. And God has shot them with his arrow: in a moment, they are wounded – their own tongues have brought them low. All who see them will shake their heads; all will behold them with fear and proclaim the workings of God and understand what he has done. The just will rejoice and hope in the Lord: the upright in heart will give him glory. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. |
| Psalm 98 (99) |
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| The Lord our God is holy |
| The Lord reigns! let the peoples tremble. He is enthroned on the cherubim: let the earth shake. The Lord is great in Sion, he is high above all the peoples. Let them proclaim his name – great and terrible it is, let them proclaim his holy name, the powerful king, who loves justice. The laws you establish are just: you have given Jacob uprightness and right judgement. Praise the Lord, our God, worship at his footstool, for he is holy. Moses and Aaron were among his prophets, Samuel one of those who called on him. They called on the Lord and he listened, and from the pillar of cloud he spoke to them. They kept his decrees and the commands he gave them. Lord our God, you listened to them; O God, you were gracious to them, but you punished their wrongdoing. Praise the Lord, our God, worship on his holy mountain, for the Lord our God is holy. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. |
| Reading | 1 John 1:1 - 2:3 © |
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| Something which has existed since the beginning, that we have heard, and we have seen with our own eyes; that we have watched and touched with our hands: the Word, who is life – this is our subject. That life was made visible: we saw it and we are giving our testimony, telling you of the eternal life which was with the Father and has been made visible to us. What we have seen and heard we are telling you so that you too may be in union with us, as we are in union with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. We are writing this to you to make our own joy complete. This is what we have heard from him, and the message that we are announcing to you: God is light; there is no darkness in him at all. If we say that we are in union with God while we are living in darkness, we are lying because we are not living the truth. But if we live our lives in the light, as he is in the light, we are in union with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we say we have no sin in us; we are deceiving ourselves and refusing to admit the truth; but if we acknowledge our sins, then God who is faithful and just will forgive our sins and purify us from everything that is wrong. To say that we have never sinned is to call God a liar and to show that his word is not in us. I am writing this, my children, to stop you sinning; but if anyone should sin, we have our advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, who is just; he is the sacrifice that takes our sins away, and not only ours, but the whole world’s. We can be sure that we know God only by keeping his commandments. |
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| Reading | A treatise by St Augustine on the epistle of John |
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| The flesh revealed Life itself | |
| We announce what existed from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our own eyes, what we have touched with our own hands. Who could touch the Word with his hands unless the Word was made flesh and lived among us? Now this Word, whose flesh was so real that he could be touched by human hands, began to be flesh in the Virgin Mary’s womb; but he did not begin to exist at that moment. We know this from what John says: What existed from the beginning. Notice how John’s letter bears witness to his Gospel, which you just heard a moment ago: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God. Someone might interpret the phrase the Word of life to mean a word about Christ, rather than Christ’s body itself which was touched by human hands. But consider what comes next: and life itself was revealed. Christ therefore is himself the Word of life. And how was this life revealed? It existed from the beginning, but was not revealed to men, only to angels, who looked upon it and feasted upon it as their own spiritual bread. But what does Scripture say? Mankind ate the bread of angels. Life itself was therefore revealed in the flesh. In this way what was visible to the heart alone could become visible also to the eye, and so heal men’s hearts. For the Word is visible to the heart alone, while flesh is visible to bodily eyes as well. We already possessed the means to see the flesh, but we had no means of seeing the Word. The Word was made flesh so that we could see it, to heal the part of us by which we could see the Word. John continues: And we are witnesses and we proclaim to you that eternal life which was with the Father and has been revealed among us – one might say more simply “revealed to us”. We proclaim to you what we have heard and seen. Make sure that you grasp the meaning of these words. The disciples saw our Lord in the flesh, face to face; they heard the words he spoke, and in turn they proclaimed the message to us. So we also have heard, although we have not seen. Are we then less favoured than those who both saw and heard? If that were so, why should John add: so that you too may have fellowship with us? They saw, and we have not seen; yet we have fellowship with them, because we and they share the same faith. And our fellowship is with God the Father and Jesus Christ his Son. And we write this to you to make your joy complete – complete in that fellowship, in that love and in that unity. |
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| Canticle | Te Deum |
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| God, we praise you; Lord, we proclaim you! You, the Father, the eternal – all the earth venerates you. All the angels, all the heavens, every power – The cherubim, the seraphim – unceasingly, they cry: “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts: heaven and earth are full of the majesty of your glory!” The glorious choir of Apostles – The noble ranks of prophets – The shining army of martyrs – all praise you. Throughout the world your holy Church proclaims you. – Father of immeasurable majesty, – True Son, only-begotten, worthy of worship, – Holy Spirit, our Advocate. You, Christ: – You are the king of glory. – You are the Father’s eternal Son. – You, to free mankind, did not disdain a Virgin’s womb. – You defeated the sharp spear of Death, and opened the kingdom of heaven to those who believe in you. – You sit at God’s right hand, in the glory of the Father. – You will come, so we believe, as our Judge. And so we ask of you: give help to your servants, whom you set free at the price of your precious blood. Number them among your chosen ones in eternal glory. Bring your people to safety, Lord, and bless those who are your inheritance. Rule them and lift them high for ever. Day by day we bless you, Lord: we praise you for ever and for ever. Of your goodness, Lord, keep us without sin for today. Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy on us. Let your pity, Lord, be upon us, as much as we trust in you. In you, Lord, I trust: let me never be put to shame. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. |
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| Concluding Prayer |
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| O God, through the blessed apostle John you made known the innermost secrets of the Word. When we hear his beautiful words grant us the ability to understand them fully. 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. Amen. |
| Wednesday, December 27, 2006 St. John, Apostle, Evangelist (Feast) |
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great feast day today. thank you for your posts
| Jn 20:1-8 | ||
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| # | Douay-Rheims | Vulgate |
| 1 | And on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalen cometh early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre: and she saw the stone taken away from the sepulchre. | una autem sabbati Maria Magdalene venit mane cum adhuc tenebrae essent ad monumentum et videt lapidem sublatum a monumento |
| 2 | She ran therefore and cometh to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved and saith to them: They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre: and we know not where they have laid him. | cucurrit ergo et venit ad Simonem Petrum et ad alium discipulum quem amabat Iesus et dicit eis tulerunt Dominum de monumento et nescimus ubi posuerunt eum |
| 3 | Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple: and they came to the sepulchre. | exiit ergo Petrus et ille alius discipulus et venerunt ad monumentum |
| 4 | And they both ran together: and that other disciple did outrun Peter and came first to the sepulchre. | currebant autem duo simul et ille alius discipulus praecucurrit citius Petro et venit primus ad monumentum |
| 5 | And when he stooped down, he saw the linen cloths lying: but yet he went not in. | et cum se inclinasset videt posita linteamina non tamen introivit |
| 6 | Then cometh Simon Peter, following him, and went into the sepulchre: and saw the linen cloths lying, | venit ergo Simon Petrus sequens eum et introivit in monumentum et videt linteamina posita |
| 7 | And the napkin that had been about his head, not lying with the linen cloths, but apart, wrapped up into one place. | et sudarium quod fuerat super caput eius non cum linteaminibus positum sed separatim involutum in unum locum |
| 8 | Then that other disciple also went in, who came first to the sepulchre: and he saw and believed. | tunc ergo introivit et ille discipulus qui venerat primus ad monumentum et vidit et credidit |
Catching up -- Stayed at my son's house in Portland today. So am behind on everything. Your kind words are appreciated.
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December 27, 2006
St. John the Apostle
It is God who calls; human beings answer. The vocation of John and his brother James is stated very simply in the Gospels, along with that of Peter and his brother Andrew: Jesus called them; they followed. The absoluteness of their response is indicated by the account. James and John “were in a boat, with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. He called them, and immediately they left their boat and their father and followed him” (Matthew 4:21b-22).
For the three former fishermen—Peter, James and John—that faith was to be rewarded by a special friendship with Jesus. They alone were privileged to be present at the Transfiguration, the raising of the daughter of Jairus and the agony in Gethsemane. But John’s friendship was even more special. Tradition assigns to him the Fourth Gospel, although most modern Scripture scholars think it unlikely that the apostle and the evangelist are the same person. John’s own Gospel refers to him as “the disciple whom Jesus loved” (see John 13:23; 19:26; 20:2), the one who reclined next to Jesus at the Last Supper, and the one to whom he gave the exquisite honor, as he stood beneath the cross, of caring for his mother. “Woman, behold your son....Behold, your mother” (John 19:26b, 27b). Because of the depth of his Gospel, John is usually thought of as the eagle of theology, soaring in high regions that other writers did not enter. But the ever-frank Gospels reveal some very human traits. Jesus gave James and John the nickname, “sons of thunder.” While it is difficult to know exactly what this meant, a clue is given in two incidents. In the first, as Matthew tells it, their mother asked that they might sit in the places of honor in Jesus’ kingdom—one on his right hand, one on his left. When Jesus asked them if they could drink the cup he would drink and be baptized with his baptism of pain, they blithely answered, “We can!” Jesus said that they would indeed share his cup, but that sitting at his right hand was not his to give. It was for those to whom it had been reserved by the Father. The other apostles were indignant at the mistaken ambition of the brothers, and Jesus took the occasion to teach them the true nature of authority: “...[W]hoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave. Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:27-28). On another occasion the “sons of thunder” asked Jesus if they should not call down fire from heaven upon the inhospitable Samaritans, who would not welcome Jesus because he was on his way to Jerusalem. But Jesus “turned and rebuked them” (see Luke 9:51-55). On the first Easter, Mary Magdalene “ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, ‘They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they put him’” (John 20:2). John recalls, perhaps with a smile, that he and Peter ran side by side, but then “the other disciple ran faster than Peter and arrived at the tomb first” (John 20:4b). He did not enter, but waited for Peter and let him go in first. “Then the other disciple also went in, the one who had arrived at the tomb first, and he saw and believed” (John 20:8). John was with Peter when the first great miracle after the Resurrection took place—the cure of the man crippled from birth—which led to their spending the night in jail together. The mysterious experience of the Resurrection is perhaps best contained in the words of Acts: “Observing the boldness of Peter and John and perceiving them to be uneducated, ordinary men, they [the questioners] were amazed, and they recognized them as the companions of Jesus” (Acts 4:13). The evangelist wrote the great Gospel, the letters and the Book of Revelation. His Gospel is a very personal account. He sees the glorious and divine Jesus already in the incidents of his mortal life. At the Last Supper, John’s Jesus speaks as if he were already in heaven. It is the Gospel of Jesus’ glory. Quote:
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December 27, 2006    Feast of St. John, apostle and evangelist Old Calendar: St. John
Today is the third day in the octave of Christmas. The Church celebrates the Feast of St. John, apostle and evangelist. Born in Bethsaida, he was called while mending his nets to follow Jesus. He became the beloved disciple of Jesus. He wrote the fourth Gospel, three Epistles and the Apocalypse. His passages on the pre-existence of the Word, who by His Incarnation became the light of the world and the life of our souls, are among the finest of the New Testament. He is the evangelist of the divinity of Christ and His fraternal love. With James, his brother, and Simon Peter, he was one of the witnesses of the Transfiguration. At the Last Supper, he leans on the Master's breast. At the foot of the cross, Jesus entrusts His Mother to his care. John's pure life kept him very close to Jesus and Mary in years to come. John was exiled to the island of Patmos under Emperor Domitian.
St. John, the Evangelist, who is styled in the Gospel "the beloved disciple", was a Galilean, son of Zebedee and Salome, and brother to St. James the Greater, both of whom were fishermen. The two were called by Jesus to be disciples as they were mending their nets by the Sea of Galilee. Jesus showed St. John particular instances of kindness and affection above all the rest. He had the happiness to be present with Peter and James at the Transfiguration of Christ, and was permitted to witness His agony in the Garden. He was allowed to rest on Our Savior's bosom at the Last Supper, and to him Jesus confided the care of His holy Mother as He hung dying on the Cross. St. John was the only one of the Apostles who did not forsake the Savior in the hour of His Passion and Death.
He was later exiled to the Island of Patmos, where he wrote the Apocalypse, but afterwards returned to Ephesus. In his extreme old age he continued to visit the churches of Asia, and St. Jerome relates that when age and weakness grew upon him so that he was no longer able to preach to the people, he would be carried to the assembly of the faithful by his disciples, with great difficulty; and every time said to his flock only these words: "My dear children, love one another". St. John died in peace at Ephesus in the third year of Trajan (as seems to be gathered from Eusebius' history of the Saint) that is, the hundreth of the Christian era, or the sixty-sixth from the crucifixion of Christ, St. John then being about ninety-four years old, according to St. Epiphanus. Excerpted from Heavenly Friends, St. Paul Editions Patron: Against poison; art dealers; authors; bookbinders; booksellers; burns; compositors; editors; engravers; friendships; lithographers; painters; papermakers; poisoning; printers; publishers; tanners; theologians; typesetters; writers; Asia Minor; Taos, New Mexico; Umbria, Italy; diocese of Cleveland, Ohio; diocese of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Symbols: Cup or chalice and serpent (cup or sorrow foretold by Jesus); eagle rising out of a cauldron (refers to being a martyr of spirit, but not in deed); serpent entwined on a sword; grave; Prester John seated on tomb, with book, orb, and sword; eagle on a closed book; scroll of his Gospel; scroll of the Apocalypse; nimbed eagle; book. |
  December 27, Feast of Saint John
He is the evangelist of the divinity of Christ and His fraternal love. With James, his brother and Simon Peter, he was one of the witnesses of the Transfiguration. At the Last Supper, he leans on the Master's breast. At the foot of the cross, Jesus entrusts His Mother to his care. John's pure life kept him very close to Jesus and Mary. In years to come John was exiled to the island of Patmos under Emperor Domitian, but lived to an old age. — From the Daily Roman Missal
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True God and True Man
John 20:2-8 Introductory Prayer:Jesus, I believe that you are my way to peace and happiness in this life and in the next. I believe that you are the truth and I want to live the truth in my life and to speak the truth in every conversation. I believe that you are true God and true man. You are my life. Help me to remain with you, to speak with you throughout this day about the things that weigh on my heart. Petition:Lord Jesus, with Saint John the Evangelist, the beloved disciple, I wish to lay my head upon your chest and listen to your heartbeats. 1. An Intimate Friend of Jesus. We celebrate today the feast day of Saint John, the apostle and evangelist, one of the great figures in the history of Christianity. This Son of Thunder was one of the three apostles singled out by the Lord to be present at both his transfiguration in glory on Mount Tabor and his transfiguration as the Suffering Servant in Gethsemane. It was John who laid his head upon Jesus’ breast at the Last Supper. He alone among the apostles was present at the culmination of Christ’s life on Calvary. And when the Lord, hanging upon the cross, wanted to give all he had left in this world -- his own mother --, he chose this young fisherman from Capernaum to receive her on behalf of the whole Church. Do I have the same intimate relationship with Christ as Saint John? What am I doing to foster this relationship? Do I have the same burning desire as Saint John to be with the Master through thick and thin, and to spend the best part of my day with him? 2. The Eagle Has Landed. It is quite likely that the early Church established the feast of Saint John two days after Christmas because it was he who captured for us in his Gospel both the divine and human natures of the infant we adore in the Bethlehem stable. Grasping Saint John’s profound writings helps us avoid the heresies that have been present in the Church throughout the ages. On the one hand, some have said that Jesus was God, but man only in appearance. On the other hand, some have claimed that Jesus was just a man, a good teacher or a revolutionary, but not God. John spells out clearly in his Gospel that Jesus was both wholly human and wholly divine. Since the Second Century, Saint John has been depicted as an eagle, an image taken from the books of Ezekiel (1:10) and Revelation (4:7), because his Gospel soared into the ethereal heights of Christological mysticism. Nothing in the other three Gospels can possibly compare with the poetic profundity of lofty prologue to John’s Gospel: “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God” (John 1:1). The baby lying in the manger was indeed he “who was from the beginning.” 3. He Was One of Us in All Things but Sin. Saint John helps us see and understand, like no other, that the Word has become flesh and dwells among us. He proclaims the one “whom we have heard, whom we have seen with our eyes, whom we have looked upon and our hands have touched” (1 John 1:1). The eternal Godhead has taken on human nature and has become one with us, one of us, in all things but sin. He lives with us and our senses truly testify to his presence. This is the true perspective on Christ that captures both his divine and human realities. It is a mystery how the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity can take on human flesh and become fully human in the womb of a virgin. But it happened. And each time we go to Mass or Eucharistic adoration we come to adore — alongside Mary, Saint Joseph, the shepherds, the Magi and the host of angels — this Truth-made-flesh in all his awesome, mysterious majesty. Conversation with Christ: Thank you, Lord Jesus, for coming down from heaven to save me from my sins and show me the way to eternal life. As if it weren’t enough, you further humbled yourself to remain with us upon the altar and in the tabernacle under the appearance of bread, so that we could continue to experience your divine presence and loving support. You knew that we would need to nourish our souls with your body and blood on our challenging journey toward our ultimate destination, where we will finally see you face-to-face. Resolution: I will take time today to thank God for becoming man and for his ongoing physical presence in the Eucharist, preferbly on my knees before the Blessed Sacrament. |
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| Are You As Happy As You’d Like to Be? | ||
The Feast of St. John, the Apostle
1 Jn 1:1-4 / Jn 20:2-8
It is amazing how much of ourselves that we unintentionally reveal in the course of ordinary conversation. Most of us don’t have to talk very long before those who are listening have a fairly good fix on who we are and what we really value, even if our words themselves are intended to convey the exact opposite! Try listening to yourself some time. It can be both delightful and disconcerting.
St. John the Apostle is a case in point. In today’s first reading, he reveals what he’s really about when he explains that he’s writing to his friends about Jesus so that “our own joy may be complete.” In a word, John thinks of his own happiness as something that comes from sharing life and giving it away, not just from grabbing what he can get. And that explains the whole course of his very long life.
So where are you seeking your happiness? Are you finding it? Where have you invested your heart? Where do you invest most of your waking hours? Are you as happy as you’d like to be, or as you think you could be? What does that tell you about the course you’ve charted for yourself?
We’re on the edge of a new year. It’s a good time to ponder our priorities and set them right.
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It seems that St. John remained for a long time in Jerusalem, but that his later years were spent at Ephesus, whence he founded many churches in Asia Minor. St. John wrote his Gospel after the other Evangelists, about sixty-three years after the Ascension of Christ; also three Epistles, and the wonderful and mysterious Book of the Apocalypse or Revelation. He was brought to Rome and, according to tradition, was cast into a caldron of boiling oil by order of Emperor Domitian. Like the Three Children in the fiery furnace of Babylon, he was miraculously preserved unhurt. 
St. John was born in Bethsaida, and like his brother James, was a fisherman. He was called while mending his nets to follow Jesus. He became the beloved disciple of Jesus. He wrote the fourth Gospel, three Epistles and the Apocalypse. His passages on the pre-existence of the Word, who by His Incarnation became the light of the world and life of our souls, are among the finest of the New Testament.