Feast of Saint John the Apostle

Good morning. In celebration of the Feast of Saint John the Apostle the Church has selected the Gospel reading for today that tells of the moment when John the Apostle realized the tomb was empty and that Jesus had risen as He had foretold. This reading from the Gospel of John helps us realize that Christ’s death led to the glory of His resurrection and that what happened for Him will likewise happen for us. We all will die, and we all will lose loved ones, but the promise of resurrection in today’s Gospel offers for us assurance that in the resurrection on the last day we will rejoin those we love and cherish in this life. The message of today’s Gospel is clear—we need not fear death. This may seem to be somewhat of an odd message for Christmas time, yet it is this victory over death for which the Infant Child in Bethlehem came to be. It is this message of His coming to us as man and living, and struggling, and suffering, and dying as we all do and will that we celebrate at Christmas. His victory over death began at His birth as it does for each one of us at our Baptism or re-birth in Christ. This assurance of victory over death is a message many struggle with in a culture which seeks to escape suffering at any cost and where many attempt to ignore the reality of death. Although this assurance of victory over death is hardly a message we tend to focus upon it is precisely this message we celebrate at Christmas and throughout the year every time we celebrate the Mass. It is this faith in the resurrection which Saint John came to know in today’s Gospel reading that enables each one of us to some day say “Let me go to the house of the Father.” Meanwhile let us enjoy the moments we have with our loved ones and live each moment with the love given to us in the Infant Child at Bethlehem. O’ come let us adore Him. Make a great day!

Today we recall the good life, gifts, and works of Saint John the Apostle.