The Passing of the Holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian.
All-Night Vigil Feast. A day when the faithful are highly encouraged to participate in the Divine Liturgy.
1 John 4:12-19; John 19:25-27; 21:24-25.
Read John 19:25-27; 21:24-25
Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!
Today’s passage has both a practical and a symbolic meaning. From a practical point of view, Jesus entrusts his mother to the care of one of his close disciples because, without the protection and help of a male guardian, she would have been destitute in the culture and society of Jesus’ day. To be a widow in the ancient world meant not only the loss (hopefully) of a loved companion and spouse, but also of a male provider and guardian in a culture where life without one could be miserable. So, on one level, Jesus is simply providing for his mother’s future welfare.
But both Jesus’s mother and his disciple also has symbolic importance. In the Gospel of John, Mary is always called “the mother of Jesus:” the fact that she remains unnamed makes it easier to think of her in this symbolic fashion. At the wedding at Cana, she functions as the model disciple, and at the Cross, next to the beloved disciple, she appears as the mother of the Church. By entrusting her to the apostle John, who stands in for the model Christian in this passage, he simultaneously gives John to her: now, like Jesus, he can look to Mary as his mother. Jesus wants to share his life with the beloved disciple (and with us), and in so doing, he presents him (and us) with Mary as his mother. When you are in sorrow, turn to your heavenly mother, Mary, and to your mother, the Church. You can have confidence in the care of both.
Bible References