St John

 Today is the feast of St.John the Apostle. "The beloved disciple." Brother of James, son of Zebedee and Salome. He was the youngest of all the disciples and the only one not to be martyred.
in his Gospel John does not merely report all the incidents that he witnesses but truly reflects on there significance and ponders on what Jesus truly meant by what he said. He was one one of a trio of Jesus closest disciples and was witness to all the main events in Jesus' ministry.
We can learn from John how to stay close to The Lord. Jesus was number one in John's life and because of this he became the most forceful evangelist of all.  Perhaps we can learn something from this young evangelist that those who make God their number one, whose lives are built on prayer and who ponder the Scriptures will become powerful witnesses to the love of God.

I found this on Catholic Culture and I thought it would be fun to adopt into our families Christmas celebrations.
Many of the recipes for making the wine are for a mulled wine so if you have a favorite why not heat some up and sit around the fire and toast this wonderful Saint who has given us so much to reflect on, on the life of Christ.
Happy Feasting

It is a custom in the old countries to drink of "St. John's Love". The Church provided a special blessing of wine in honor of the Saint. According to legend St. John drank a glass of poisoned wine without suffering harm because he had blessed it before he drank. The wine is also a symbol of the great love of Christ that filled St. John's heart with loyalty, courage and enthusiasm for his Master; he alone of all the apostles was not afraid to stay close to Our Lord during the Passion and Crucifixion.

Prayer:

St. John's wine, blessed by the priest or sprinkled with water by the father of the family, is served with the main meal. In Catholic sections of Europe, even the children receive a little sip of it after the main course of the dinner. The wine is poured in glasses and passed around to the family and guests. As each glass is given, say:

"I drink you the love of St. John."

Response will be "I thank you for the love of St. John."

The following prayer is said 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 honor 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

Prayer Source: Feast Day Cookbook by Katherine Burton and Helmut Ripperger, David McKay Company, Inc., New York, 1951