The Feast of St. John, the Beloved Disciple

Today we celebrate the feast of St. John, the youngest of the apostles and the only one who did not die a martyr’s death.  However, he was exiled to the island of Patmos where he wrote the book of Revelation.  Recent scholars point out the relationship between the Book of Revelation and the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. If interested in this development, I recommend that you read Scott Hahn’s book entitled “The Lamb’s Supper, The Mass as Heaven On Earth.”  When participating in the Mass—standing, as it were, beneath the cross of Christ, as St. John did, “we share in a foretaste of that heavenly liturgy which is celebrated in the Holy City of Jerusalem toward which we journey as pilgrims, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God, Minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle. With all the warriors of the heavenly army we sing a hymn of glory to the Lord; venerating the memory of the saints, we hope for some part and fellowship with them; we eagerly await the Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ, until He, our life, shall appear and we too will appear with Him in glory” (The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy as quoted by Scott Hahn in The Lamb’s Supper).

Thus the Gloria and the “Holy, holy, holy,” the Lamb of God” and “Happy are those who are called to this Supper” prayers offered during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. We join with all of the angels and saints in heaven as our Warrior God proclaims battle upon Satan prowling the world in search of souls. In Jesus’ name and through His once and for all sacrifice on the cross, Satan will be overcome. We will ultimately triumph over evil, as Jesus did on the cross, where He took on sin to destroy it forever.  He descends from heaven to earth in every liturgy, inviting us to “Take and Eat; this is my body given up for you,” and “Take and drink; this is the blood of the New Covenant,” shed once and for all for the salvation of the world. You are a part of that saving act in every Eucharist, as John was a part of the first Eucharist, when, at the Last Supper, Jesus said those same words to the apostles at that last meal of Jesus on earth. He would not eat it again until the heavenly and earthly liturgies unite as one.