December 27, 2012

Feast of Saint John, Apostle and Evangelist

St. John, the beloved disciple and the Apostle depicted as the Eagle, because he soars to the heights of truth.  Read more about the great St. John the Evangelist.

On the third day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...three Frency hens.

The three French hens symbolize the theological virtues.

1 Corinthians 13:13
King James Version (KJV)
13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

Lectionary: 697

Reading 1 from the first letter of St. John1 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 --

The Word of Life is Christ.  St. John, St. James, St. Andrew and St. Peter were the first to see, hear and touch Him when St. John the Baptist revealed Him.

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?

St. John is declaring the Divinity of Christ.  Christ is the Eternal Life which was with the Father.

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.

He is proclaiming to us the Gospel so that we might be saved and the joy of all who traverse the heavens may be complete:

Luke 15:10
Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.

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!

We must always rejoice in the goodness and mercy of God, who without our participation, sent His only begotten Son in order that He might die and we might receive life everlasting.

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. John
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."

St. Mary had not yet seen the Lord, but had found the empty tomb with the other holy women and informed the Apostles.

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;

The other disciple is St. John himself.   He is the one who arrived at the tomb before St. Peter.

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.

When St. Peter arrived, he went in first, and surveyed the scene.

Then the other disciple also went in,
the one who had arrived at the tomb first,
and he saw and believed.

Then St. John went in and they observed and believed.

Merry Christmas!

Sincerely,

De Maria