†Saint Quote
"When we serve the poor and the sick we serve Jesus. We must not fail to help our neighbors, because in them we serve Jesus."
–St. Rose of Lima †Today's Meditation
"One can well imagine St. John watching in stunned silence as Judas rose from his place after receiving the morsel from Jesus [at the Last Supper] and started to leave. As he passed through the doorway, John caught a glimpse of the darkness that seemed to envelop Judas like a cloak. The outer darkness contrasted sharply with the light of the supper room. John is evidently struck by the contrast, because he adds: "It was night." This brief sentence of John's makes a profound impression."
—Fr. Ralph Gorman, C.P. An Excerpt From
The Last Hours of Jesus - From Gethsemane to Golgotha †Daily Verse
"In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love one another. No one has ever seen God. Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us."
–1 John 4:10-12 |  click to read more | | St. John the Evangelist St. John the Evangelist (1st c.) was one of the Twelve Apostles, and one of the three in Jesus' inner circle, along with his brother, James, and Simon Peter. St. John was the disciple who reclined on the breast of Jesus at the Last Supper, and the only one of the twelve to not forsake Christ during His crucifixion and death. John stood faithfully at the foot of the Cross alongside the other holy women, and therefore he was the disciple to whom Jesus entrusted the care of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In addition to being called "The Evangelist" he is also known as the "Beloved Disciple." After the death and resurrection of Jesus, St. John was an important leader of the Church in Jerusalem. He lived to a very old age and composed the fourth Gospel that bears his name, three epistles, and the book of Revelation. He is the only one of the Twelve Apostles who was not martyred, instead being exiled to the island of Patmos in the Aegean Sea under the persecution of Roman Emperor Domitian. St. John the Evangelist's feast day is December 27th. | Feast of Saint John, Apostle and evangelist Reading I 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 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! Alleluia See Te Deum R. Alleluia, alleluia.
We praise you, O God,
we acclaim you as Lord;
the glorious company of Apostles praise you.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. 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.
| Daily Meditation: 1 John 1:1-4 The Word of life . . . was made visible. (1 John 1:2) How fortunate John was! The apostle and evangelist whose feast we celebrate today had personally seen, heard, and touched the Lord Jesus (1 John 4:1-4). He encountered the eternal God in the flesh! Don't you sometimes wish that you could be with Jesus physically the way John was? But John didn't believe in Jesus just because he had been physically present with him. He also believed with the eyes of faith. That's especially evident in today's Gospel. When John arrived at the empty tomb, he didn't see Jesus. Yet when he looked inside and spotted the burial clothes rolled up by themselves, he "saw and believed" (John 20:8). This wasn't just a matter of deductive reasoning on John's part. It was a gift that God gave him—the revelation that Jesus had truly risen from the dead. This is how faith works for all of us. It's not something we acquire on our own; it is first and foremost a gift from God. Out of sheer love for us, the Lord plants the seed of faith in our hearts when we are baptized. We respond to this gift by watering and fertilizing that seed so that it can grow within us. This clearly isn't a once-and-done affair. God continues to pour out this gift on us, and our faith strengthens, day by day and year by year, as we continue to nurture it. The more our faith grows, the more we come to believe that Jesus is truly alive and with us. We may not be able to see, hear, and touch him the way John did, but we can still experience him with the eyes of faith. This is the same awesome gift that enables us to see Jesus and touch him every time we receive the Eucharist! It's only two days since we celebrated Jesus' incarnation. Let's continue the celebration today by thanking God for the gift of our faith. May we never take it for granted or neglect it! It is this gift that allows us to see Jesus in the manger at Christmas, and it is this gift that allows us to see the risen Jesus, alive and present with us today. "Lord Jesus, help me to see, hear, and touch you today!" Psalm 97:1-2, 5-6, 11-12
John 20:1-8 | From today's 1st Holy Scripture:
"...our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We are writing this so that our joy may be complete." Saint John writes words of Heaven with the spirit of the Eagle, the very spirit of the Holy Spirit. And He speaks from the beginning about the Word becoming flesh, and He speaks to us about the Father, as a bringing us to the Father in Jesus Christ our Lord. Indeed, this is what our Lord Jesus is doing, a uniting of all of us through Him to the Father. | We pray today;
"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. Rejoice in the Lord, you just!" And so, I wonder why our world shies away from our Lord. We have Adoration, and many are shying away. We have Hol Confessions and many drive right past our Lord. We have tons of great resources to tap into online and even locally to get active in the faith, but they are like hidden gems, and pearls in a world with swine that trample on them. I write to you so that you may hunger and seek. I share gems I find daily, in reflections from many sources. | In the Gospel today we heard:
"Then the other disciple also went in,
the one who had arrived at the tomb first,
and he saw and believed." It is always peculiar as to why Saint John would write in the 3rd person perspective. Right? It was John that ran and beat Peter to the tomb. But John waited, and why? I can only summize the importance of the primacy, the papacy already of Saint Peter, the Rock. This is pretty much a matter of honor. Most of our lunches out here, we are in the habit and tradition that we wait for all to be served and to sit before we begin to eat, mostly to give thanks and mostly to honor the last to arrive. We do these things to show love, and unity. We do things together. And I like that, even though my food might get a little cold, it makes for a greater cause.
And so, we have the testimony of John.
That John was loved by our Lord. I'm sure He loved them all like that, but John had to express the love that was transformative...in all his writings.
And, that John saw the empty tomb, and that John believed, and He wrote to us so that we may believe too.
And so, I write to you as well, for I have seen things that a normal person should not have seen in the realms of divinity. I hope you believe, for I cannot live on without believing.
That I have seen the face of Christ streaming with living lights. That I have seen the darkest moment of Christ and the most strangest feeling was one like this: At that moment all I could feel was Our Father's love as He hung on that cross in extreme suffering for us. And that lights were scattered among souls. And that I have seen Him turn to flesh on the altar, and that this has changed me forever.
And lately, I am learning the teachings of Heaven...that of obedience, and that of which Christ can actually come inside of our souls, our bodies and there can reside a Holy Communion. | .......................†........................
Lord, we have a witness. Firstly, Yours. Secondly, ours. Thirdly, that which is to come from Your child, youmy child
.................................................. adrian |  click to hear | Random Bible Verse 1
Colossians 3:16 [Colossians 3] 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
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