John

The feast of the Beloved Disciple. 

Of all the apostles, John understood Jesus the best, hence he became the Beloved. At the Last Supper he leaned on the breast of the Lord, such was the intimacy between Jesus and John, and while we may be jealous of such a closeness, as was Peter, we must remember that all of us are called to such intimacy with the Lord. 

It is Jesus' intention that we all become beloved disciples, and John himself encourages us in this. As we read his Gospel and his Epistles we see John unveiling what he found in the Heart of Christ and inviting us in beyond the veil to go into the sanctuary, into the Heart of Jesus himself. 

If only we realised that, if only we knew what God was offering, what Jesus is saying to us! May St John the Beloved help us to listen, to respond and to open our hearts to Christ.

Feast Of The Beloved

If there is one title which seems most appropriate for St John, it has to be "The Beloved".  He is the son of Zebedee, the brother of James, Apostle and Evangelist, and all of these reveal who he is, what he did.  But "The Beloved" reveals his relationship with Christ, and offers us an example: we too are called into such a relationship with Christ.

That image of John at the Last Supper is, perhaps, also the most appropriate image to sum up his life: the one who was intimate with Christ, who leaned upon the Lord and heard the secrets of the Heart of Jesus. 

Today, as we celebrate his feast day, may he obtain for us the grace to come to the Heart of Jesus, to surrender ourselves to Christ, to lean upon him and to love him, for he loves us. 

The Beloved Disciple

I love these feast days after Christmas - they are my patronal feasts - I'm called after John and Stephen.  St John is an interesting saint, renowned for his holiness and purity, the Beloved Disciple, who was entrusted with caring for Our Lady in the last years of her life - a wonderful privilege.  According to tradition John lived to a great age, dying of natural causes, although he was almost martyred a couple of times - once by boiling oil, another by a poisoned drink.  He survived both and went on to write the Gospel and New Testament letters attributed to him, and the Book of Revelation. 

Now, that is a controversial statement, and my former New Testament lecturer will be shaking his head in disbelief, but seeing as there is no definite evidence to contradict the ancient tradition of attributing the works to St John the Apostle, I will follow the tradition until it can proven beyond reasonable doubt the tradition is incorrect.  Call me old fashioned, a reactionary conservative or a festering barnacle, I don't care.  Tradition until proven otherwise.

Anyway, back to St John.  According to tradition (ahem), he is buried in Ephesus in the ruins of a former Christian basilica.  John is renowned for his devotion to the Lord and his gentleness, although one has to wonder how gentle he was given that the Lord nicknamed him and his brother James "sons of thunder".  He also had an ambitious streak, the Gospels recording how he wanted to sit on one side of Christ in the kingdom.   But, with age and holiness those faults were dealt with and by the end of his life he was deeply venerated for his profound sanctity.  There is hope for all of us. 

O Holy Saint John.

Beloved Disciple,

Friend of Christ,

Protector of the Virgin Mother of the Lord,

Joyful Evangelist,

Martyr in desire,

Visionary of Patmos,

Teacher in Love,

pray for us

that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.