December 27 – St John, Apostle and Evangelist (Feastday)

Antiphons at Lauds - Sunday of 1st Week

1. This is John, the apostle and evangelist, the celibate man whom the Lord chose and loved more than he loved the others.

2. When Christ was hanging on the cross he consigned his Virgin Mother to John the celibate.

3. The disciple whom the Lord loved, said: This is the Lord, Alleluia.

Peter and John answered and said to them: "Tell us as for yourselves, whether it would be right in the sight of God that we give heed to you more than to God. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard."

He who was from the beginning, whom we have heard, whom we have seen with our eyes, whom we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life. For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and show you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us. That which we have seen and heard, we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us, and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.

This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare to you: that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleans us from all sin.

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

My little children, these things I am writing to you, that you do not sin. But if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.

It is God whom we adore at Bethlehem during Christmas time. Thus it was natural that St John, the chief evangelist of the divinity of Christ should be found beside the crib, to disclose the greatness of the Infant who reposes in it. And by that crib was Mary too, to whom Jesus later in life on the cross entrusted John: "Woman, behold your son."

It is to him that Jesus wished to entrust His mother when Joseph will have passed away. The liturgy therefore loves to show together, beside the Child and His Mother, him who is called the apostle, the Just Man.

The Infant God in the crib gathers around Him pure souls: Mary is the Blessed Virgin, Joseph the chaste spouse, St Stephen the first martyr who washes his robe in the blood of the Lamb. Now behold St John, the virgin apostle. Crowned with the halo of those who knew how to conquer their flesh, for this reason he became the disciple whom Jesus loved, and who also leaned on his breast at supper. Thanks to his angelic purity, he imbibed that wholesome wisdom which won for him the halo of Doctor.

It is to St John who wrote a Gospel, three Epistles and the Apocalypse, that we owe the most beautiful pages on the Divinity of the Word made flesh; and it is for this reason that he is symbolised by the eagle which soars in the heights. Finally he received the halo of martyr, since he only escaped a violent death by that special protection which made many believe that the beloved disciple would not die. Actually he did not depart this life until all the other apostles had passed away.

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