Day 3: The Disciple Whom Jesus Loved
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Opening Prayer
Glorious Saint John the Evangelist, the disciple whom Jesus loved and guardian of Our Lady, I come before you in this novena with confidence. You who knew Jesus with a unique intimacy and who brought to the world the deepest revelation of his love, intercede for me before the Lord. May I too discover that I am “the disciple whom Jesus loves.” Amen.
Meditation
John did not identify himself by name in his own Gospel: he identified himself as “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” This choice is not arrogance: it is profound spiritual humility. Instead of defining himself by who he was, a son of Zebedee, a fisherman, an apostle, he defined himself by what he had received: Jesus’ love. This is the most fundamental Christian identity: what God has done for us rather than what we do for God. Before we are servants, we are loved. Before we are missionaries, we are loved.
Prayer of the Day
Saint John, beloved disciple, intercede that I too may discover that my deepest identity is “the disciple whom Jesus loves.” It is not what I do, what I produce, or what I am worth in the eyes of the world, but who I am in the eyes of Jesus: loved. May this certainty sustain my life in times of weakness and doubt. Amen.
Our Father × 1
Hail Mary × 1
Glory Be × 1
Closing Prayer
Glorious Saint John the Evangelist, beloved disciple of Jesus and guardian of Our Lady, receive the prayers of this novena. Intercede for me before the Lord and obtain for me the graces I need. May the revelation you proclaimed, “God is love,” become the certainty that sustains my life. May I live as “the disciple whom Jesus loves.” Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
