Opening Prayer
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
✠ Amen
As we read the Gospel of John, his Letters, and the Book of Revelation help us to discover his character, so we might know the treasure of the Beloved Disciple.
Most Holy Trinity, we praise you that we may look upon you with unveiled eyes being transformed from glory to glory by the Lord who is the Spirit. In your grace, you lavish your blessings upon each of us as beloved disciples, so that we may be equipped to face the challenges of this hour. [Adapted from 2 Corinthians 3:18]
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father who art in Heaven, Hallowed be thy name; Thy kingdom come Thy will be done On earth as it is in heaven.
✠ Give us this day our daily bread; And forgive us our trespasses As we forgive those who trespass against us; And lead us not into temptation. But deliver us from evil.
Hail Mary
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed are thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
✠ Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners. Now, and at the hour of our death.
Glory Be (Gloria Patri)
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.
✠ Amen.
Day three
Selections from the Gospel of John, the Beloved Disciple
The man called Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ Then I went and washed and received my sight. He said, “Lord, I believe.” And he worshiped him. John 9:11,38
✠ You are my beloved disciple on whom my favor rests
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep… I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep.” John 10:11,14-15
✠ Blessed are they that keep these words
“My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.” John 10:28-30
✠ You are my beloved disciple on whom my favor rests
“I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.” John 11:25-26
✠ Blessed are they that keep these words
“Jesus began to weep. So the Jews said, ‘See how he loved him!’” John 11:35-36
✠ You are my beloved disciple on whom my favor rests
(Jesus said to concerning Lazarus when he died), “Take away the stone”, and again “Lazarus, come out” and finally “Unbind him, and let him go.” John 11:39,43,45
✠ Blessed are they that keep these words
“Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard (aromatic oils), anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped them with her hair.” John 12:3
✠ You are my beloved disciple on whom my favor rests
“You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.” John 12:8
✠ Blessed are they that keep these words
“The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” John 12:24-25
✠ You are my beloved disciple on whom my favor rests
“Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say—‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” John 12:27-28
✠ Blessed are they that keep these words
“When I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” John 12:32
✠ You are my beloved disciple on whom my favor rests
“While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of light.” John 12:36
✠ Blessed are they that keep these words
“I have not spoken on my own, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment about what to say and what to speak. And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I speak, therefore, I speak just as the Father has told me.” John 12:49-50
✠ You are my beloved disciple on whom my favor rests
Selections from the Letters of John, the Beloved Disciple
“See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are… Beloved, we are God’s children now; it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. And every one who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.” 1 John 3:1,2-3
✠ You are my beloved disciple on whom my favor rests
“No one who abides in him sins; no one who sins has either seen him or known him. Little children, let no one deceive you. He who does right is righteous, as he is righteous.” 1 John 3:6-7
✠ Blessed are they that keep these words
“By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But if any one has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or speech but in deed and in truth.” 1 John 3:16-18
✠ You are my beloved disciple on whom my favor rests
“This is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. All who keep his commandments abide in him, and he in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit which he has given us.” 1 John 3:23-24
✠ Blessed are they that keep these words
Selections from Revelations, by John, the Beloved Disciple
“Therefore I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, that you may be rich, and white garments to clothe you and to keep the shame of your nakedness from being seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and chasten; so be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any one hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. He who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I myself conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’” Revelation 3:18-22
✠ You are my beloved disciple on whom my favor rests
‘The four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all round and within, and day and night they never cease to sing, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!”’ Revelation 4:8
✠ Blessed are they that keep these words
“And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives for ever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives for ever and ever; they cast their crowns before the throne, singing, “Worthy art thou, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for thou didst create all things, and by thy will they existed and were created.” Revelation 4:9-11
✠ You are my beloved disciple on whom my favor rests
“Between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders, I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth; and he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and with golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.” Revelation 5:6-8
✠ Blessed are they that keep these words
‘They sang a new song, saying, “Worthy art thou to take the scroll and to open its seals, for thou wast slain and by thy blood didst ransom men for God from every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and hast made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on earth.”’ Revelation 5:9-10
✠ You are my beloved disciple on whom my favor rests
Closing Prayers
Most Holy Trinity, we have read selections from the Gospel of John, the Letters of John, and the Book of Revelation to help us see you like John sees you, to love you like John loves you, to take on the character of John… so that we may abide in you and you in us and become beloved disciples, transformed from glory to glory, by the Lord who is the Spirit.
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit .
✠ Amen