"Behold your Mother" - Dec. 27, Feast of John the Apostle

[MariaChristi]

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

How perfectly the Church’s liturgy celebrates the Feast of the Beloved Disciple John so close to the Birth of Christ! As we marvel at the wonder of God’s Son born of Mary, today we remember also Jesus’ gift of His Mother to all of us at the cross, when He told John, “Behold your Mother”.

The simplicity and poverty of Bethlehem is seen again on Calvary. The gift of God’s Son is made complete by the outpouring of His Love and the “emptying” of His Sacred Heart, pierced for us. John hears and does the Truth He hears, as Joseph did, and takes Mary into his home and into his life.

Have we? I hope so, and I pray for all our brothers and sisters all over the world in our human family, who have yet to come to “see” by faith, God’s Great Love and to experience the gift of Himself coming to us through Mary.

 

[Gertabelle]

Thank you for the lovely meditation on today’s Gospel reading. Yes indeed, it is beautiful to consider today, so close to Christmas, how Our Lord gives us His own Mother to be our Mother as well.

On a slightly lighter note, today is also the blessing of new wine. In the monastery, the abbess would pour each sister a glass of wine and hand it to her with the words, “Drink of the love of St John, and fellowship with our community.”

It was a simple and beautiful ritual.

God bless you all.

 

[MariaChristi]

Thank you for the lovely meditation on today’s Gospel reading. Yes indeed, it is beautiful to consider today, so close to Christmas, how Our Lord gives us His own Mother to be our Mother as well.

On a slightly lighter note, today is also the blessing of new wine. In the monastery, the abbess would pour each sister a glass of wine and hand it to her with the words, “Drink of the love of St John, and fellowship with our community.”

It was a simple and beautiful ritual.

God bless you all.

Dear Gertabelle,

Thanks for your reply and the account of the blessing of new wine. Were you there to witness the ritual or was it something you read about? This is the first I’ve heard of such a ritual, and wonder which Community the abbess and sisters belonged to – was it in the USA or Europe? Carmelite? Dominican? Trappist? Benedictine? If you have time, I hope you’ll share more of your experience of this simple and beautiful ritual.

 

[Gertabelle]

I was in the Abbey of St Walburga (Benedictine) for two years back in the late 1980s. The first nuns to establish this community came from Eichstatt, Germany, from the Abtei St Walburg. After Mother gave each of us a glass of wine, we enjoyed a feast-day dinner with recreation (instead of the usual silent dinner with one sister reading aloud during the meal).

I’m not sure if this ritual was Benedictine or Germanic in origin. Either way, it was lovely.

And Father did bless our wine (whatever wine we had on hand for mass and solemnities for the year) after mass that day.

Sorry I can’t tell you more about its origins.

 

[MariaChristi]

I was in the Abbey of St Walburga (Benedictine) for two years back in the late 1980s. The first nuns to establish this community came from Eichstatt, Germany, from the Abtei St Walburg. After Mother gave each of us a glass of wine, we enjoyed a feast-day dinner with recreation (instead of the usual silent dinner with one sister reading aloud during the meal).

I’m not sure if this ritual was Benedictine or Germanic in origin. Either way, it was lovely.

And Father did bless our wine (whatever wine we had on hand for mass and solemnities for the year) after mass that day.

Sorry I can’t tell you more about its origins.

Dear Gertabelle,

Thanks so much for sharing your experience. The ritual seemed appropriate for the Feast of St. John since he and Mary were beneath the Cross of Jesus, when Jesus’ Heart was pierced and from His Heart flowed Blood and Water. John was with Jesus and Mary also when Jesus turned water into wine at Cana.

When Mary told her Son, “The have no wine”, Jesus’ answer seemed mysterious: “Woman what is that to you? My hour has not yet come” – Yet when we see Mary with John on Calvary we realize Mary is so important in His final Hour. Mary is the New Eve and Jesus the New Adam in this new “creation”. The first woman and man had been disobedient but on Calvary we see the perfect obedience of Jesus and His Mother.

Henceforth John will carry on the ordained Priesthood as Mary carries on the Mission of Jesus in the Priesthood of the laity. Priests and People today carry on this offering of themselves with Jesus at every Mass. The miracle of wine and water transformed into Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit and the words of the priest is manifest. John and the other Apostles, the first to be priests heard Jesus at the Last supper say “Do this…”

I do not know who or what may have been at the origin of this ritual blessing of wine, but it does seem to express much for us to recall on the Feast of John the Beloved Disciple.

 

[Gertabelle]

You’re very welcome. Thank you for your beautiful meditations on so many aspects of our faith.