You're listening to I Pray with the Gospel on the St. Jose Maria Institute podcast.

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, amen.

My Lord and my God, I firmly believe that you are here, that you see me, that you hear me.

I adore you with profound reverence.

I ask your pardon for my sins, and the grace to make this time of prayer are fruitful.

My American-lit mother, St. Joseph, my father, and Lord,

my guardian angel, intercede for me. The Feast of St. John, the Apostle. A reading from the Gospel of

John, chapter 20. Now on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene went to Simon Peter and the other disciple,

the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, they have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not

know where they have laid him. Peter then came out, with the other disciple, and they went

toward the tomb. They both ran, but the other disciple outran Peter, and reached the tomb

first.

Oh, John, the one whom Jesus loved. How did you like that title? The Beloved. You were still young

when you started following St. John the Baptist. You loved him and listened to him, thinking that he could be the one. But one

memorable day, he looked into your eyes with affection and said to you, I am not the one you are

looking for, John. I am not the one who can quench your thirst for love. I am not the one whom you

should follow, the one who can give meaning to your life, the one that is worth living with

and dying for. Then he pointed to Jesus, who is passing by, he is the one you are looking

for. And you, John, jump to your feet and follow Jesus. You never forgot that day, not even the time.

It was about the tenth hour. And from that day, always with Jesus, with him you were, from beginning to end. You heard Jesus preaching on the mount, by the sea in the temple, in the streets. You John saw his glory on Mount Tabor during his transfiguration. You saw him multiplying loaves and fish,

transforming water into wine. You saw him acclaimed by the crowds. But there you were also,

dear John, when he was despised by the leaders, when he was betrayed, rejected, deserted. There you

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