Upclose and Personal: St John the Beloved

Among the first twelve apostles called by Jesus, and known as "beloved disciple," John knew Jesus well and loved him deeply. He heard him teach and saw him perform miracles. At the last supper, John had the privilege of sitting next to Jesus and leaning against his chest (John 13:23). He was the only disciple who remained with the Lord as he was dying on the cross, where Jesus entrusted the care of his mother to him (John 19:25-27).

Through prayerful reflection on Jesus' words and deeds, John understood that Jesus is the way to eternal life (John 14:6) -- a life first revealed to the disciples and then to all people: "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" (1 John 1:3 NAB).

Although banished to the island of Patmos for a time, John was an active evangelist, founding many churches and proclaiming Jesus' immense love for us through his writings--including his Gospel, three letters, and the book of Revelation. He is also the only apostle who have died of natural causes.

Jesus invites us to experience the same love and intimacy John knew. He has given us the gifts of prayer and Scripture to strengthen us in our daily lives, the gift of one another in the Church for support and encouragement, and finally, the gift of his very self in the Eucharist.

The Church has set aside December 27th to celebrate the holy life of St John the Beloved.

x----x

This post is sponsored by Credit Suisse.

Comments

Joint Meetings of the Australian Parliament

A joint meeting of the Australian Parliament is a convening of members of the Senate and House of Representatives sitting together as a single legislative body. Australia has a bicameral federal Parliament, consisting of the Senate and House of Representatives. Subject to the Constitution of Australia, each House has its own rules, standing orders and procedures, its own presiding officer, and meets separately, at dates and times it alone decides. However, there are some occasions when the two Houses have come together as a single body. Unlike the Opening of Parliament which is officially made by the Governor-General at the Senate premises, the joint sessions are held at the House of Representatives chamber. The reasons of joint meetings have included: To resolve deadlocks between the Houses following the trigger of a double dissolution To fill casual vacancies in the representation of the territories in the Senate A special commemorative joint sitting to Celebrate the Centenary o...

Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage

Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage or the Virgin of Antipolo is a seventeenth century Roman Catholic wooden image of the Blessed Virgin Mary as venerated in the Philippines. This Black Madonna is enshrined in Antipolo Cathedral in the Sierra Madre mountains east of Metro Manila. The image was brought to the country by Governor-General Juan Niño de Tabora from Mexico via the galleon El Almirante in 1626. His safe voyage across the Pacific Ocean was attributed to the image, which was then given the title "Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage." It was substantiated later by six other successful voyages of the Manila-Acapulco Galleons witb the image aboard as its patroness. Pope Pius XI issued a Pontifical decree to crown the image in 1925. The statue is one of the most celebrated Marian images in the Philippines, having mentioned by national martyr Jose Rizal in his writings. From May to July each year, the image attracts millions of pilgrims from all over the country and abroad. ...

How to Create a Richly Imagined World

For someone who likes fantasy and sci-fi fiction, most of the time, a lot of people ask me about how to create a richly imagined world. Fantasy and sci-fi elements rest heavily on how an author weave the setting and the world in which the heroes dwell in, and it helps to make the novel to be imagined vividly in the readers' minds. A convincing world should be relatable, something that we can associate ourselves with. For us to be associated with a world an author created in his mind, and wrote on the pages of a book, this world has to be close to the real thing. It has to be systematic, real and alive, and very convincing. A real world has certain elements, and an author must consider them in writing a vividly imagined world: Cartography - a fantasy or sci-fi world depend heavily on geography and maps, especially if the plot requires war and the belligerents occupy so much space in the plot. A convincing world has the world separated in territories, and every part of the...

Search This Blog