REFLECTIONS ON THE WORD – 12/27/21 (Feast of St. John the Apostle)

John 20:2, 4

2 So she ran, and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him."

4 They both ran, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first;

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Blessed Feast Day of St. John the Apostle! St. John is also known as the disciple whom Jesus loved, and this is why he is also called as "St. John the Beloved." Did Jesus have favoritism? No. Jesus loves everyone, but this unique title signifies the love that St. John gave to Christ even more than the other disciples. Although it's true that he fell asleep during the agony in the garden of our Lord, he persevered afterwards by remaining with Jesus on the cross unlike the other disciples. He was granted the opportunity to rest on the His Sacred Heart at the last Supper. His perseverance is shown even in our gospel reading today. When St. Mary Magdalene saw that the tomb was empty, she went to St. Peter and St. John to announce the good news. Then, both the disciples went to the empty tomb, but St. John outran St. Peter. 

The Lord is showing us that we should persevere in loving God by seeking the highest peak of holiness that He prepares for us. But, do we really persevere in our spiritual life? Unfortunately, some of us are contented with one to two short prayers a day rather than spend more time with God. We may prefer to go to Mass only when it's convenient rather than participate in the Mass every Sunday and holy days of obligation knowing its necessity for our souls. Even when we see that we commit grave sins, we may make excuses not to go to confession. Why do we not persevere? Maybe, we do not know that our sins offend and pierce the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Perhaps, we believe that holiness is reserved only for few people when the truth is that everyone of us is called by God to to be holy. When we do not persevere in loving God, we may scandalize other people who will not seek a holy life as well. And, when we dwell on our sins, we may lose the opportunity of seeing the glory of God in heaven. 

Jesus desires that we pray for holy perseverance through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, our Mother who was entrusted to St. John. He will give us His light that will banish the darkness of our sins through frequenting the sacraments and prayers. He will make us witnesses of His mercy as we preach the gospel, not just in words, but also in our actions. More souls will be reconciled with God when they become inspired by our good works. As we persevere in loving God, we can have the hope of eternal joy in fellowship with Him in heaven. 

Amen +

 

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, be with us always until the hour of our death. Amen. +

 

May the Lord + bless us, protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life. Amen. +  

Reflection by: Dominic