Feast of St. John the Theologian: the Apostle of Love

The post marks the feast of the Holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian, called the Apostle of Love. It recalls that at the Last Supper the young John leaned his head on the Savior's breast, and through the quiet beating of Christ's heart his soul was filled, as the author writes, with the fire of divine love, a love that casts out fear.

Because of this, when the other disciples fled in the darkness and fear of Gethsemane, John did not turn back. He followed his Teacher to Golgotha, stood beneath the Cross, looked upon His wounds, and received the greatest legacy: the Most Holy Theotokos as his Mother. Filled from the source of life, John in his Gospel does not deal with dry chronologies.

Like a spiritual eagle, he rises at once to the highest heavenly heights and cuts into eternity with the words: 'In the beginning was the Logos (the Word), and the Logos was with God, and the Logos was God.' The author quotes his reminder of the essence of everything: 'God is Love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God in him' (1 John 4:16).

When John was very old and too weak to hold long sermons, his last words to his disciples were simple and contained the whole Law and the Prophets: 'Little children, love one another!' The post closes with a prayer that St. John, the Son of Thunder, might intercede for a heart able to hear Christ, for love that does not fail, and for peace that surpasses every mind, and it wishes readers a blessed feast.