Why is John not honored that much?

[Unique_name]

This is kind of a weird question, but I’m doing a Bible reading schedule that takes me through the New Testament in 90 days, and going through it faster than normal has opened up some new questions.

As Catholics, we know that Mary was blessed beyond all other humans. We also give the reply to the common question, “Why do you love Mary so much?” that our Lord himself loved her so much. She was his mother, and he loves her.

So my question is, why do we not typically give much thought to the disciple John? John was the disciple that Jesus loved, the beloved disciple, as the gospel of John mentions a lot.
Besides the fact that he’s a saint, I just don’t see that much of a deal made about him most of the time. Is there a reason why? It seems somewhat inconsistent to say, “We love and honor Mary because Jesus did first,” while ignoring the one disciple that the gospels specifically say was beloved by Jesus. Am I missing something?

Thanks!

 

[Fauken]

It seems somewhat inconsistent to say, “We love and honor Mary because Jesus did first,” while ignoring the one disciple that the gospels specifically say was beloved by Jesus. Am I missing something?

I think that’s hardly the case. He recognized as one of the four Evangelists (symbolized as an eagle), one of the Twelve Apostles, is in the Roman canon, has his own feast day, the Last Gospel in the TLM is from the first chapter of his gospel (and was thus recited at every Mass), and is depicted in art with the crucifixion and Mary’s Assumption. And those are just things I can think of off the top of my head.

 

[Unique_name]

I suppose I just haven’t really seen much.
Mainly I’m thinking about prayers. I’ve just never heard anyone say, “Ask St John to intercede for you,” or something like that. I’ve heard his name in the litany of the saints but not beyond that.

 

[Unique_name]

I suppose “ignored” was too dramatic, but I hope the rest of my post helped get the point across.

 

[Fauken]

I’ve just never heard anyone say, “Ask St John to intercede for you,” or something like that. I’ve heard his name in the litany of the saints but not beyond that.

I haven’t heard someone say “Ask St. Matthew/Bartholomew/Philip/etc. to pray for you” either, but that doesn’t mean that none of them are honored. Probably the most common name among Catholic men that I know personally is John, and a majority of them can rely on his intercession as their namesakes. Plus there could be hundreds of people who simply have a private devotion to him, as the other Apostles.

 

[Unique_name]

I haven’t heard someone say “Ask St. Matthew/Bartholomew/Philip/etc. to pray for you” either, but that doesn’t mean that none of them are honored.

But they also weren’t specifically mentioned as being loved by Jesus. It seems to me like there’s a distinction between Matthew/John.

 

[Divine3]

Hi Unique name…I think that is a great observation. When I had my first conversion (I call it that)I was drawn to the book of Revelation (to my amazement) and it was a special time of my life. Saint John is a mystic, you can just see that in the Gospel of st. John. Some mystics (private revelation) like the City of God by Venerable Maria Agrada ,writes in one of the four volume books , about Mary’s time in Ephesus with saint John. I have a suspicion that the Holy Spirit is guiding you to get to know saint John better and it will be a rewarding time for you and others.

 

[po18guy]

He is honored with the symbol of the eagle, as his Gospel, letters and the Apocalypse soar above all others theologically. His writings, which reflect some of his teaching, are perhaps the most studied in all of scripture. Thus, he is certainly honored, but differently according to his illumination and abilities.

I am intrigued with Saint Simon the Zealot, but not much about him - only a feast day which he shares with Jude.

 

[Camehome4john6]

Whenever I think of St. John I think of Mary. Often, when I think of Our Lady I think of St. John. He is the one who teaches us by example how to have a relationship with the mother of our Redeemer. Jesus gave him (us) Mary to be his (our) mother. The guy wrote some pretty important stuff, too, including a gospel… the gospel that brought me back to the Church. So he’s pretty up there in my esteem. That being said, I don’t think I’ve ever said a novena to him or know of a chaplet to him. I think, and I could be off base here but it’s just opinion, that his importance lies more in the example he gives and the teachings he’s written than in devotions to him.
OTOH, it’d be perfectly fine to ask his intercession or develop a devotion to him…imho.

 

[VanitasVanitatum]

Mary has a unique honor that being the Mother of God brings. Of course I’m not saying that she created God or the like.

 

[BartholomewB]

John was the disciple that Jesus loved, the beloved disciple, as the gospel of John mentions a lot.

It’s not 100 percent certain that the “beloved disciple” is John. It might be somebody else, possibly even someone who was not one of the Twelve. It’s a question that academics in the NT Studies field still argue about.

You can break it down into three separate questions:

• Is John the Apostle the beloved disciple?
• Is John the Apostle the author of the Fourth Gospel?
• Is the beloved disciple the author of the Fourth Gospel?

It is often taken for granted that the answer to all three questions is “Yes”. But there would be no logical inconsistency in answering Yes-No-No, or No-Yes-No, or possibly even No-No-Yes. And many people, of course, including some Catholics, would answer No-No-No.

 

[HeDa]

The Gospel of St John along with the Book of Acts are always read on weekday Easter Masses.

Personally if there is something tricky in the Epistles then I have a habit of returning to the Gospel of St John. And I have done that for decades…

 

[Dovekin]

Is the beloved disciple the author of the Fourth Gospel?

It is this disciple who testifies to these things and has written them
John 21:24

The stated author of the Fourth Gospel is the Beloved Disciple. (Who may or may not have been named John) Your question is like asking if Benjamin Franklin wrote his autobiography, which is a very different type of question from your other two.

Just an observation, not a criticism.