27 December, Saint John, Apostle and Evangelist

ENTRANCE ANTIPHON
This is John
who reclined on the breast of the Lord at supper:
Blessed the Apostle unto whom were made known
the secret things of heaven;
to the ends of the earth he has spread the words of life.
COLLECT
O God who,
through the blessed apostle John,
unlocked for us the hidden secrets of your Word,
grant, we beseech you,
that we may grasp with fuller understanding
what he so wondrously proclaimed.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God forever and ever.

GENERAL INTERCESSIONS
That the Church in East and West
may bear a united and many-splendoured witness
to the light of the Word made flesh, and so reflect his glory in the world,
to the Lord we pray: R. Jesus, Son of Mary, hear us.
That world leaders of good will
may collaborate sincerely and effectively in the pursuit of peace,
to the Lord we pray: R. Jesus, Son of Mary, hear us.
That those who suffer may lift their eyes
to the Son of Man lifted up on the tree of the Cross;
that those who seek out Jesus by night
may see the Light that triumphs over every darkness;
and that those who thirst may recognize in Christ the gift of God,
to the Lord we pray: R. Jesus, Son of Mary, hear us.
That, like Saint John the Evangelist,
theologians and preachers may rest upon the Sacred Heart of Christ
and learn, in the silence of love, the secrets of the Word made flesh,
for the joy of the whole Church,
to the Lord we pray: R. Jesus, Son of Mary, hear us.
That we who have assembled today to listen to the Word
and to partake of the living Bread come down from heaven,
may receive the message of the Beloved Disciple
who, with Mary, stood at the foot of the Cross,
and so come to know and believe the love God has for us,
to the Lord we pray: R. Jesus, Son of Mary, hear us.
COLLECT AT THE GENERAL INTERCESSIONS
Holy Father (Jn 17:11),
God whom no one has seen (Jn 1:18),
cast your bright beams of light upon the Church:
that, being illumined by the teaching
of your blessed apostle and evangelist Saint John,
we may know and believe the love you have for us (1 Jn 4:16),
and, at length, attain to that perfect love
that casts out fear (1 Jn 4:17-18),
and to the glory which you gave your only Son
before the foundation of the world (Jn 17:24).
Through Christ our Lord.
PRAYER OVER THE OFFERINGS
O Lord, we entreat you
to make holy the gifts we have offered,
that we, partaking of the banquet of this supper,
may drink deeply of the mysteries of your Eternal Word
mysteries that, from the same wellspring,
you revealed to the Apostle John.
Through Christ our Lord.
PREFACE
(Ambrosian Missal, trans. Alan Griffiths)
Truly it is right and just, our duty and our salvation,
always, here and everywhere to give you thanks,
Lord, holy Father, almighty and eternal God,
as we celebrate the memory of Saint John the Evangelist.
The Lord bestowed on John
a lasting place and privilege among his own.
As he hung upon the cross
Christ willed that his beloved disciple
should be a son to his own Mother.
The love with which Christ loved him
transformed him from fisherman to disciple
and gave him more than mortal insight
to perceive and proclaim
the uncreated Godhead of Christ the Word.
And so, with your blessed apostle,
we join the citizens of heaven
in this, the ageless hymn of your glory:
COMMUNION ANTIPHON
The Word was made flesh,
and dwelt among us;
and of his fulness we have all received (Jn 1:14, 16).
PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION
Grant, we beseech you, almighty God,
that through the mystery that we have celebrated,
the Word made flesh,
preached by the blessed apostle John,
may ever dwell among us.
Through Christ our Lord.