FEAST OF ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST
“He that loveth cleanness of heart for the grace of his lips shall have the king for his friend” (Prov. 22, 11).
First Prelude: Behold St. John reclining upon our Lord’s bosom at the Last Supper.
Second Prelude: O beloved disciple, obtain for us from the Sacred Heart of Jesus the grace of perfect purity of heart that we may be made receptive for His divine love and worthy of the especial love of His holy Mother.
FIRST POINT
ST. JOHN TEACHES US THAT PURITY OF HEART IS A PREREQUISITE FOR PERFECT LOVE OF GOD
St. John, called the beloved disciple, appears today at the court of the Divine Child, in order to have us penetrate deeper into the mysteries of the love of the Incarnate God. Who would be more fit for this holy task than that disciple to whom it was granted, while resting on the bosom of Christ, to contemplate love in its very source, in His Divine Heart, whence he drew the streams of living waters, the treasures of wisdom and knowledge embodied
in his writings.
According to the verdict of the Fathers, St. John was specially beloved of the Saviour for his perfect purity of heart. In him, indeed, are verified the words: “He that loveth cleanness of heart for the grace of his lips, shall have the king for his friend.” It is not surprising then that St. John was vouchsafed a closer familiarity with his Master than were the other disciples. If anyone should have been permitted to be the confidant of the thrice holy God and admitted to the knowledge of His mysteries, it surely must have been that disciple whose heart was freer from earthly inclinations than that of any other Apostle, and who was worthier to see God insofar as this is possible on earth, in accordance with the words of Christ: “Blessed are the clean of heart; for they shall see God” (Matt. 5, 8).
In placing the feast of St. John so near Christmas, Holy Mother Church wishes to honor holy virginity in a special manner. She considers it a fruit of the blessed Nativity of the Incarnate Son of God, a fruit of the divine love manifested therein, of the grace brought us by our Saviour. It is that infinite love, first manifested in the crib and later in its perfection on the cross, which has enamored so many noble souls and constrained them to offer Jesus their heart without reserve. This holy virginity has become for all who have chosen it the fertile soil upon which all good and all Christian perfection has matured to such marvelous sanctity.
Thank God that He has called you to so exalted a vocation, and endeavor to correspond most zealously to this great grace of election, by persevering prayer, by strict custody of your senses and the affections of your heart, by detachment from all earthly inclinations, that Jesus may give you His Heart and render you worthy of His Divine Friendship.
Do we strive to draw from the Heart of Jesus that science of pure souls which teaches us to know God better and to love Him more intensely?
SECOND POINT
JESUS ENTRUSTS HIS VIRGINAL MOTHER TO THE
PROTECTION OF ST. JOHN
When Jesus died upon the cross, He left His Blessed Mother on earth. Who would be deemed worthy to be custodian of so rare a treasure? Since Jesus loved no one more dearly than His holy Mother, He willed to entrust her to none else than the beloved disciple. From the heights of the cross our Lord saw this disciple who persevered with Him and, as a reward for his fidelity, He entrusted to him His dearest treasure. John should be a son to Mary, and Mary, a mother to John; “When Jesus therefore had seen His Mother and the disciple standing, whom He loved, He saith to the disciple: ‘Behold, thy mother.’ And from that hour the disciple took her to his own” (John 19, 26-27).
These words of Jesus produced a most filial devotion in heart of the Apostle and a most tender, maternal love in the heart of Mary. With what marvelous gifts did not the Saviour adorn the soul of the Apostle to make him worthy of His exalted position! What a plenitude of graces did not the prayers of Mary and the familiar intercourse with her effect in John! St. Thomas of Villanova’s words relative to St. Joseph can fittingly be applied to the beloved disciple: “If a single salutation of this Virgin effected sanctification in the precursor even before birth, what must not intercourse with her of many years have produced!” Extol the Lord for the innumerable graces that were imparted to St. John through the hands of the Blessed Mother. Beg the saint to present you to our Lady and commend you to her maternal care.
If all Christians are to consider Mary as their Mother and invoke her as such, then religious, who are the spouses of her Divine Son, have a special claim to her. Therefore, address yourselves to this good Mother with childlike confidence, and you shall never want enlightenment, strength, and consolation.
Is it my aim to imitate St. John in his sincere love of the Mother of God, and in his confident intercourse with her?
Affections: St. John, thou Apostle of love, who wast so dear to the Heart of the Divine Master, who didst penetrate with the vision of spotless purity the mystery of the Incarnate Eternal Wisdom, lead us to the manger of Him Whose delight it is to be with the children of men, Who seeks pure hearts, for His abode. Obtain for us the grace that Mary, given to us as Mother through thee, take us under her patronage and help us according to thy example to imitate her virtues and render ourselves daily more worthy of the title “Children of Mary.” Let us ever experience, especially in the hour of death, how good it is to love Mary.
Resolution: For the love of Jesus and Mary, and to merit their especial pleasure, I will aspire to great purity of heart.
Spiritual Bouquet: “He that loveth cleanness of heart . . . shall have the king for his friend.”
Prayer: O Jesus, living in Mary . . .
Do we strive to draw from the Heart of Jesus that science of pure souls which teaches us to know God better and to love Him more intensely?
SECOND POINT
JESUS ENTRUSTS HIS VIRGINAL MOTHER TO THE
PROTECTION OF ST. JOHN
When Jesus died upon the cross, He left His Blessed Mother on earth. Who would be deemed worthy to be custodian of so rare a treasure? Since Jesus loved no one more dearly than His holy Mother, He willed to entrust her to none else than the beloved disciple. From the heights of the cross our Lord saw this disciple who persevered with Him and, as a reward for his fidelity, He entrusted to him His dearest treasure. John should be a son to Mary, and Mary, a mother to John; “When Jesus therefore had seen His Mother and the disciple standing, whom He loved, He saith to the disciple: ‘Behold, thy mother.’ And from that hour the disciple took her to his own” (John 19, 26-27).
These words of Jesus produced a most filial devotion in heart of the Apostle and a most tender, maternal love in the heart of Mary. With what marvelous gifts did not the Saviour adorn the soul of the Apostle to make him worthy of His exalted position! What a plenitude of graces did not the prayers of Mary and the familiar intercourse with her effect in John! St. Thomas of Villanova’s words relative to St. Joseph can fittingly be applied to the beloved disciple: “If a single salutation of this Virgin effected sanctification in the precursor even before birth, what must not intercourse with her of many years have produced!” Extol the Lord for the innumerable graces that were imparted to St. John through the hands of the Blessed Mother. Beg the saint to present you to our Lady and commend you to her maternal care.
If all Christians are to consider Mary as their Mother and invoke her as such, then religious, who are the spouses of her Divine Son, have a special claim to her. Therefore, address yourselves to this good Mother with childlike confidence, and you shall never want enlightenment, strength, and consolation.
Is it my aim to imitate St. John in his sincere love of the Mother of God, and in his confident intercourse with her?
Affections: St. John, thou Apostle of love, who wast so dear to the Heart of the Divine Master, who didst penetrate with the vision of spotless purity the mystery of the Incarnate Eternal Wisdom, lead us to the manger of Him Whose delight it is to be with the children of men, Who seeks pure hearts, for His abode. Obtain for us the grace that Mary, given to us as Mother through thee, take us under her patronage and help us according to thy example to imitate her virtues and render ourselves daily more worthy of the title “Children of Mary.” Let us ever experience, especially in the hour of death, how good it is to love Mary.
Resolution: For the love of Jesus and Mary, and to merit their especial pleasure, I will aspire to great purity of heart.
Spiritual Bouquet: “He that loveth cleanness of heart . . . shall have the king for his friend.”
Prayer: O Jesus, living in Mary . . .
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