SSF249 – Contemplative Prayer and the Beloved Disciple

St. John the Evangelist’s profound insights into our Lord’s Heart offer the Church a model of apostolic life and Christian contemplation. In these, the last days, Christians must adopt the charism of the Beloved Disciple in order that union with Christ might be achieved through a share in His suffering. This charism is particularly Marian and particularly Eucharistic. Most of all, it is contemplative: St. John is uniquely suited to receive the secret of our Lord’s heart – the secret of Love. We will discuss the Historical Figure of Saint John the Beloved Apostle and Evangelist. We will then discuss the significance and meaning of the three gifts of friendship that Jesus gives to John, and to us, to draw him into intimacy with Him:

• Resting near his Sacred Heart at the Last Supper
• Giving him His mother Mary to be His mother at the foot of the cross
• Giving him a share in his own cross in his own life and mission as an Apostle

Finally we will discuss how Peter, John, and James, serve as a models of what Holiness is in relationship to knowing, loving, and serving God. We will also discuss how every saint both in heaven and on earth is given gifts to bring them and others to union with Jesus and how with each gift there is a path to conversion and purification. We will also discuss how Jesus is the embodiment of the perfection of all holiness that John and all the saints point to by the witness of their lives.