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Saint John's Day

December 27th is the Feast of Saint John the Evangelist. This is another feast not often enough acknowledged in the Protestantized American Church, but it's quite an interesting one. Falling just after the Nativity of Our Lord, it is necessarily linked to the Winter Solstice. At the other side of the year, June 24th is the Feast of Saint John the Baptist. The name John, Yohannon, means "Graced by God," or, rather, by Yahweh. As "Grace" is a way of saying "Divine Power," and the name "Yahweh" specifically refers to God's nature as the fundamental source of being, we can see that both saints John are earthly embodiments of the highest divine power. From the shared name of the two saints John and the dates of their feasts, we see that these two are connected, and that they bear a connection to the Sun and the cycle of the year. Notice, too, that the Feast of John the Baptist is at the Summer Solstice, when the light, which is at its maximum, begins to decrease, while John the Evangelist is born at the Winter Solstice, when the dim light is yet growing again. There is much here that could be unpacked in meditation. Indeed, there is an entire tradition of Johannine Christianity, of which the largest contemporary example is a Gnostic organization called the Apostolic Johannite Church.

Of course, Saint John is one of the four evangelists, the author of the Gospel of John, the Apocalypse of John, and several New Testament epistles. It's very hard to overstate the importance of Saint John. He is referred to as "the Beloved Disciple," and it is to his care that the Blessed Virgin Mary is entrusted by Our Lord Himself from the Cross. He is also invoked as the patron of love, friendship, and authors. In iconography, he is connected with an eagle, as Saint Mark is connected with a lion, Luke with a bull, and Matthew with a man. These symbols suggest the four faces of the cherubim, but they also symbolize the four cardinal signs of the Zodiac. (The Eagle is one of the symbols of Scorpio, as is the water snake, which we will touch on shortly-- the nature of Scorpio is that it can be either a poisonous snake, moving through the waters of the astral realm, or an eagle soaring above those waters in the eternal sunlight of the spirit). Speaking of snakes--

Saint John and the Wine Cup

Saint John is often depicted with a wine cup, out of which a small snake or dragon emerges. This comes from an incident in the later life of the saint. It seems that, while at Ephesus, Saint John was offered a cup of poisoned wine. But the saint blessed the cup, and the poison crawled right out of it in the form of a snake.

For this reason, Saint John's Day has been the traditional day to bless wine, or sometimes cider. This consecrated wine can then be used year round for any purpose you can imagine-- to promote health, prevent attacks of witches and evil spirits, and so on. A few drops can be added to ordinary table wine in order to turn it into a magical beverage.

A Ritual for the Blessing of Wine

We can use the same ritual we used to consecrate incense on the Feast of Saint Thomas as a template for the blessing of wine on Saint John's Day. The difference is that you should have a cup, bottle, or other vessel of wine on your altar or prayer table. An icon of Saint John would not be out of place, either.

1. Open in the usual way, with the Sign of the Cross, opening prayers, asperges and incense.

2. Standing, with hands in the orans posture, pray the prayer of the Holy Spirit:

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Thy faithful and enkindle in them the fire of Thy love.

Send forth Thy Spirit and they shall be created, and Thou shalt renew the face of the earth.

Let us pray.

O God, Who didst instruct the hearts of the faithful by the light of the Holy Spirit, grant us in the same Spirit to be truly wise, and ever to rejoice in His consolation, through Christ, our Lord. AMEN.

5. As you chant the word AMEN, visualize a great torrent of white light pouring down from the heavens, above you. Slowly lower your hands over the extra piece of incense, and imagine the white light of the Spirit pouring forth from your hands. Continue until the wine is filed with pure white light.

6. Trace the sign of the cross over the wine, and say a prayer, such as: "Creature of wine, I bless thee in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Receive the blessing of God, and become an agent of divine grace, that whoever shall drink of thee will receive healing and purification. Through Christ our Lord, AMEN."

If you prefer, you can also substitute a longer, traditional blessing, at this point. (Notes: "V" and "R" stand for "Verse" and "response." Most of the time, you'll be doing this alone, and should read both parts yourself. But if you have any assistants, they should read the responses. Anywhere you see a +, make the Sign of the Cross).

V: Our help is in the name of the Lord.

R: Who made heaven and earth.

V: The Lord be with you.

R: And with thy spirit.

Let us pray.

If it please you, Lord God, bless + and consecrate + this vessel of wine (or any other beverage) by the power of your right hand; and grant that, through the merits of St. John, apostle and evangelist, all your faithful who drink of it may find it a help and a protection. As the blessed John drank the poisoned potion without any ill effects, so may all who today drink the blessed wine in his honor be delivered from poisoning and similar harmful things. And as they offer themselves body and soul to you, may they obtain pardon of all their sins; through Christ our Lord.

All: Amen.

Lord, bless + this creature drink, so that it may be a health- giving medicine to all who use it; and grant by your grace that all who taste of it may enjoy bodily and spiritual health in calling on your holy name; through Christ our Lord.

All: Amen.

May the blessing of almighty God, Father, Son, + and Holy Spirit, come on this wine (or any other beverage) and remain always.

All: Amen.

The wine is sprinkled with holy water. It may also be censed with incense.

7. Close with a suitable prayer and the Sign of the Cross. The Fatima Prayer or the Prayer of Saint Francis are always good choices. As this is Saint John's Day, the opening words of his Gospel are also a good idea.

Meditation for Saint John's Day

For Saint John's Day, an appropriate meditation should be drawn from the works attributed to him. The traditional reading in both the Catholic and Anglican churches is John 21:19-24. This is an option, and in both of these churches the Collect is either the following or something like it:

O Lord, let the Church be enlightened by the teachings of Your blessed apostle and evangelist John, so that she may enjoy Your everlasting gifts.

The collect could be offered as a prayer after the reading. There are also a number of Gnostic and other mystical and heretical texts attributed to Saint John. Here is an example. I don't personally make much use of these, as they tend to come from the tradition of Sethian Gnosticism in which I have more or less no interest. But if they appeal to you, today would be a good day for them!