“Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall declare your praise.”
Collect:
O God, who through the blessed Apostle John
have unlocked for us the secrets of your Word,
grant, we pray,
that we may grasp with proper understanding
what he has so marvelously brought to our ears.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. *
Today’s Readings - Lectionary # 697
Daily Meditation:
What we have seen and heard we proclaim now to you. 1 John 1
The “Beloved Disciple,” one of the Zebedee’s fishing sons, is special.
He is surely one of the “innocents” that are honored with feasts
so close to our celebration of our Lord’s birth.
John and his brother James were called “sons of thunder.”
Jesus had a special affection for him.
John must have spent his life caring for Mary and
sharing what he had seen and heard.
Let’s pray today for the grace to be such a believing disciple of Jesus
that we can share with others the signs of his love that
we have seen and heard.
Then the other disciple also went in, the one who had arrived at the tomb first,
and he saw and believed. John 20
Intercession:
My brothers and sisters, we build on the foundation of the Apostles.
Let us pray to our almighty Father for his holy people and say:
Be mindful of your Church, O Lord.
Father, you wanted your Son to be seen first by the apostles
after the resurrection from the dead.
- We ask you to make us his witnesses to the farthest corners of the world.
You sent your Son to preach your good news to the poor,
- help us to preach this Gospel to every creature.
You sent your Son to sow the seed of unending life,
- grant that we who work at sowing the seed may share the joy of the harvest.
You sent your Son to reconcile all to you through his blood,
- help us all to work toward achieving this reconciliation.
Closing Prayer:
Jesus, my brother,
I feel shy about calling you ‘brother’ as John did,
but I know that you invite me to love you as a brother
and I know I cannot comprehend
your unlimited love for me.
May my life be as focused as John’s life.
Help me to be as loving and compassionate
to those who grieve
as John was to your mother.
Guide me in spreading the joy of the good news of your life
with courage and joy
and by the example of my own life.
May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.