Gospel Reading for December 27, 2025 – John 20: 1a, 2-8
SAW AND BELIEVED
On the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we do not know where they put him.” So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb. They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and arrived at the tomb first; he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in. When Simon Peter arrived after him, he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there, and the cloth that had covered his head, not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place. Then the other disciple also went in, the one who had arrived at the tomb first, and he saw and believed.
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Today, we celebrate the Feast of Saint John, Apostle and Evangelist, the disciple often called “the beloved.” He was the one who arrived at the tomb first, SAW AND BELIEVED.
St. John was the one who wrote the intimate prayers of Jesus to the Father before he was arrested. He really must have been the closest to Jesus that’s why when he saw the cloth that had covered Jesus’ head and the burial cloths rolled up in a separate place, he knew what happened. He understood what Jesus meant when he said he would suffer in the hands of people, but in three days rise again.
If we develop a real close relationship with Jesus by listening well to his preachings, by prayer, by receiving him in the sacraments, it will not be difficult to connect his Word to our daily lives. It will be easier to understand and discern God’s will.
St. John, the beloved, teach us to develop an intimate relationship with Jesus!
