Dec 27 – Feast of St. John, apostle, evangelist
St. John, also known as the ‘beloved disciple’ of Jesus, was the son of Zebedee and Salome, brother of St. James the Great, and was called one of the Sons of Thunder. Before becoming Jesus’ disciple, he was already a disciple of St. John the Baptist, and a friend of St. Peter the Apostle. He was called by Jesus during the first year of Christ’s ministry, and travelled everywhere with him. He took part in the Last Supper and was the only one of the Twelve not to forsake the Saviour in the hour of his Passion, standing at the foot of the cross.
He was made guardian of Our Lady by Jesus, and he took her into his home. Upon hearing of the Resurrection, he was the first to reach the tomb; when he met the risen Lord at the Lake of Tiberius, he was the first to recognise him.
During the era of the new Church, he worked in Jerusalem and at Ephesus. During Jesus’ ministry, he tried to block a Samaritan from their group, but Jesus explained the open nature of the new Way, and he worked on that principle to found churches in Asia Minor and baptising converts in Samaria. He was imprisoned with Peter for preaching after Pentecost. He wrote the fourth Gospel, three Epistles, and possibly the Book of Revelation.
- Patron Saint Index
1 Jn 1:1-4
Jn 20:2-8
We are writing this to you to make our own joy complete.
When we read the words of the Apostle John, it is easy to forget that he wasn’t just writing a textbook. He was sharing a memory. In his first letter, he sounds like someone who is still a bit stunned by what he lived through. He talks about what he heard, what he saw with his own eyes, and what he actually touched with his hands.
For John, faith wasn’t an abstract idea he studied. It was something he felt in his body. You see this in the Gospel, too, when he runs to the empty tomb. He doesn’t just see a hole in the rock. He notices the small, physical details like the linen cloths lying there and the head covering folded up in a corner. Those physical things were his proof. They were the starting point for him to believe that Jesus was truly alive.
I finally started to understand John’s perspective when I went on the Camino Ignaciano. I was excited to walk the same path St. Ignatius of Loyola took from Loyola to Barcelona. But the night before I started, an old knee injury from years ago suddenly flared up. It was a sprained knee out of nowhere, and I had no explanation for it.
I had to walk the entire two weeks while I was injured. To be honest with you — I struggled. It was hard physically, but it was also a battle emotionally and spiritually. I couldn’t understand why I was being slowed down like this when I just wanted to complete the pilgrimage.
But as I limped along that trail, I started to see things differently. I met people and ran into situations that were so perfectly timed that I just couldn’t call them coincidences anymore. It was as if God was using my injury to force me to stop rushing and actually notice His presence in the people around me.
The strangest part happened right at the finish line. The night after I finished the walk in Barcelona, the pain in my knee just vanished. It was gone as quickly as it had started.
That injury was my version of the linen cloths in the tomb. It was the physical sign that God was right there with me in the middle of my pain and my weakness. It turned a long walk into a real encounter with God. John says he wrote down his experience so that our joy may be complete. He knew that if he kept the story to himself, it wouldn’t be finished. He had to share it so that others could feel that same connection and hope.
That is why I am sharing this with you. I want you to know that God doesn’t just talk to us in quiet moments, or through books. He talks to us through the real, physical, and sometimes messy parts of our lives. He uses our struggles to show us that He is moving, even when we feel like we are just limping along.
(Today’s OXYGEN by Paul Wee)
Prayer: Abba Father, help us to see and touch Your presence in our own lives, just as the apostles did, so that our shared joy may bring others closer to You. Give us the eyes to find You in the messy details and the broken parts of our own stories. May our witness be a bridge that allows everyone we meet to encounter Your healing love for themselves.
Thanksgiving: Lord, thank You for meeting me in my physical weakness and for the unexpected graces You hide within my daily struggles. I am grateful for the moments when You turn my pain into a path that leads me closer to Your heart. Thank You for being the steady hand that guides me until the journey is complete.
OXYGEN 
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