Day 5: The Evangelist of Contemplation
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Opening Prayer
Glorious Saint John the Evangelist, the disciple whom Jesus loved and guardian of Our Lady, I come before you in this novena with confidence. You who knew Jesus with a unique intimacy and who brought to the world the deepest revelation of his love, intercede for me before the Lord. May I too discover that I am “the disciple whom Jesus loves.” Amen.
Meditation
John’s Gospel differs from the other three: it is slower, deeper, more contemplative. Where the others recount events, John meditates on their meaning. The great dialogues of Jesus with Nicodemus, the Samaritan woman, the paralytic at Bethesda, and the disciples at the Last Supper are preserved only by John, with a depth that reveals decades of meditation. According to tradition, John wrote his Gospel after many years of meditation.
This long contemplation produced the deepest vision.
Prayer of the Day
Saint John, evangelist of contemplation, intercede that I may learn to meditate on the Word of God with the depth you attained. May I not read the Bible in haste, without allowing its words to sink into my heart. As you meditated for decades, may I too allow the Word of Christ to dwell richly within me. Amen.
Our Father × 1
Hail Mary × 1
Glory Be × 1
Closing Prayer
Glorious Saint John the Evangelist, beloved disciple of Jesus and guardian of Our Lady, receive the prayers of this novena. Intercede for me before the Lord and obtain for me the graces I need. May the revelation you proclaimed, “God is love,” become the certainty that sustains my life. May I live as “the disciple whom Jesus loves.” Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
