Saint John the Apostle

Saint John the Apostle

Feast Day: 27 December

Saint John the Apostle, the son of Zebedee and Salome, was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus. He was the only one of the twelve apostles who did not forsake the Saviour in the hour of His Passion. He stood faithfully at the cross when the Saviour made him the guardian of His Mother.Also known as the Beloved Disciple, John and his brother James “were in a boat, with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. He called them, and immediately they left their boat and their father and followed him” (Matthew 4: 21b-22).Saint John’s own Gospel refers to him as “the disciple whom Jesus loved” (John 13:23; 19:26; 20:2), the one who reclined next to Jesus at the Last Supper, and the one to whom Jesus gave the exquisite honour of caring for His mother, as John stood beneath the cross. “Woman, behold your son…. Behold, your mother” (John 19:26b, 27b). He followed Jesus, and never once looked back. Saint John is the one for whom our Lord Jesus bore a special love. Saint John’s life inspires us to be as faithful as him so that Jesus will bear a special love for us too. Our Lord immensely loves each one of us but we must aspire to have Him back the way Saint John did. So assured was Jesus of Saint John’s love that He gave him the greatest honour and the responsibility to take Mary as his mother. Saint John’s life teaches us too many things. It teaches us to faithfully follow our Lord Jesus Christ and never look back no matter what we go through. It teaches us to honour and revere Mary as our mother and defend her from the snares of the world just the way Saint John did by taking her to his home. His life teaches us to never abandon our Lord and His mother despite all the difficulties of life.