THE FEAST OF ST JOHN THE APOSTLE; 27th DECEMBER - THE BLESSING OF WINE

THE FEAST OF ST JOHN THE APOSTLE; BLESSING OF WINE - 27th DECEMBER


Painting of St John blessing the wine, by Alonso Cano, for the Altarpiece of a convent in Seville.

St John is described in the preface to the Mass of this day, in the Roman Missal, as follows:
St John is the virgin Apostle, crowned with the halo of those who knew how to conquer their flesh; for this reason, he became ‘the Disciple whom Jesus loved’. Thanks to his angelic purity, he imbibed that wholesome wisdom of which the Epistle of the Mass speaks and which has given him the halo of the Doctors. It is to St John, who wrote a Gospel, three Epistles and the Apocalypse, that we owe the most beautiful pages of the Divinity of the Word made flesh, and it is for this reason that the virgin Apostle is symbolized by the eagle.
BLESSING OF WINE
St John is associated with wine, a derivation from a legend in which a pagan high priest of the Temple of Diana at Ephesus was alleged to have said to him: “If you want me to believe in your God, I will give you some poison to drink. If it does not harm you, it means that your God is the true God.” St John is said to have blessed the drink, neutralizing the poison and was enabled to drink it. Perhaps the origins of the legend, (assuming it not to be an absolutely accurate historical record), lies in the Gospel passage in which Christ said to His apostles: “Faith will bring with it these miracles…they will pick up snakes with their hands and if believers drink any deadly poison, they will come to no harm: (Mark 16:18)
The blessing of wine on this day, however, is directly attributed to the passage in the Gospel in which Jesus said to St John and his brother, James: “You shall indeed share my cup.”
As a memorial to the love of Jesus for His disciple, and for Christ’s mystical body, the Church, it is customary to have wine blessed on this day, and some churches will provide blessed wine to their congregations.
St John’s love for Our Lord was one which was strong and loyal - he was the only Apostle who remained with Our Lord during His Passion, staying close to Our Lady at the foot of the Cross. He is therefore representative of all of us, as Christ gave him to His Mother, just as He gave His Mother to St John – representative of all of us, the Church Militant.
THE BLESSED WINE AT HOME:
If the wine is blessed by the priest, of course, it does not require a blessing at home. If, however, the wine is blessed at home, Katherine Burton gives us the following blessing to be said at the meal over the wine:
Leader: Our help is in the name of the Lord.
All: Who has made heaven and earth.
Leader: The Lord be with you.
All: And also with you.
Leader: Let us pray. Be so kind as to bless and consecrate with Your right hand, Lord, this cup of wine, and every drink. Grant that by the merits of Saint John the Apostle and Evangelist, all who believe in You and drink of this cup may be blessed and protected. Blessed John drank poison from the cup, and was in no way harmed. So, too, may all who this day drink from this cup in honour of Blessed John, by his merits, be freed from every sickness by poisoning and from any harms whatever. And, when they have offered themselves in both soul and body, may they be freed, too, from every fault, through Christ our Lord.
All: Amen.
Leader: Bless, Lord, this beverage which You have made. May it be a healthful refreshment to all who drink of it. And grant by the invocation of Your holy name that whoever tastes of it may, by Your generosity receive health of both soul and body, through Christ our Lord.
All: Amen
THE SALUTE WITH THE BLESSED WINE
A lovely tradition, (which appears, to me, to draw upon the Jewish roots of our faith), is the sharing of the glass of blessed wine, in the ceremony after the wine is blessed;
The wine is poured into a glass by the head of the household who says, before taking a sip of the drink: “I drink to the love of St John.”
The person takes a sip of the wine, and passes the glass on to the next person who responds:
“I thank you, for the love of St John - and where love is, there is God.”
That person takes a sip of the wine, saying: “I drink to the love of St John.” And then passes it to the next person, who responds as above.
Prayer Source: Feast Day Cookbook by Katherine Burton and Helmut Ripperger, David McKay Company, Inc., New York, 1951; Catholic Culture.org

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