The Assumption of St John

What of the saints who rose from the dead at Christ’s Resurrection? Did they die again? That would seem a poor reward! On the contrary, the common opinion is that they ascended with the Lord. This first evidence of Christ’s power gives all the more firmness to the tradition of the ages, proclaimed a dogma in 1950, that Our Lady, after her death, was assumed into heaven.

And what of the Beloved Disciple? It has remained a pious opinion – grounded on the absence of any primary relics, as also on his spotless purity and special closeness to the Word enfleshed and his Mother – that, at the end of his long life, St John the Evangelist first died and then was translated, bodily as well as spiritually, into endless light. Amongst the fathers, saints and doctors who thought thus are St Peter Damian, St Thomas Aquinas, Hugh of St Victor, Denys the Carthusian, St Albert the Great, and the Venerable Louis of Granada.

This opinion as to the assumption of St John is alluded to in his Office on the 27th of December in the Roman, Dominican and Monastic Breviaries – for one of the responsories of Matins runs thus:

Resp. vii.   Cf. Agg. ii, 24; Apoc. ii, 10b. 

In that day I will take thee my servant and will make thee as a signet in my sight, * For I have chosen thee, saith the Lord. V. Be thou faithful until death: and I will give thee the crown of life. * For.

Words originally addressed to Zorobabel by the Lord speaking through the prophet Aggeus are here applied to the Beloved Disciple. It is noteworthy that the verb “take” represents suscipiam in the Latin of the Responsory – but in the original Latin of the Vulgate, it is assumam. The versicle attached gives the context: this is not a mere call to discipleship, but, having remained faithful unto death, he who is called servant will be taken up and set in God’s sight.

Unsurprisingly, those friends of a life hidden with Christ in God, seeking even now for the endless repose promised to the saints, the Dormitionists, observe the feast of the Assumption of St John, on the date dedicated by the Greeks to his Repose, the 26^th of September (like their close cousins in holy religion, the Dominicans, they do not that day keep the commemoration of SS Cyprian and Justina).

Their Matins lessons that day are taken from St Peter Damian, who, as mentioned above, succinctly restates the tradition, purifying by his orthodoxy any suspect taint of the apocryphal Acts of John, some manuscripts and versions of which append an account of the disappearance of his body after his passing away into glory. To quote in translation some of what that holy Doctor wrote, still now appearing in the Breviary of the Dormitionists:

“Who is not filled with wonder at the unheard-of miracle of his blessed death? Who is not astonished at the glory of his most blessed departure? As his life was a wonder, so also his death was a wonder; and, as he had not lived a life like other men, so he did not die a death like theirs. For this is what the histories tell of him: he had a square grave made in the Church; he then went into it; and, after long and earnest prayer, his soul passed from his body.

“Soon such a light from heaven fell on the place, that no one could bear to look at it. After the light was gone, the grave was found to have nothing in it but manna, of which it is said to be full to this day. Thus was it fitting that the Beloved Disciple of the Giver of life should pass from the world, and that he should be as far removed from pain in death as he was from the corruption of the flesh.

“It is asserted with probability, and is a pious belief, that, as is believed of the blessed Mother of God, so St John rose from the dead; for, as they were alike in their virginal purity, so they seem justly to be equalled in an anticipated resurrection; nor should there be any difference in their resurrection, in whom there was such a marvellous likeness of life. For, if these most blessed Virgins, namely, Mary and John, have not risen, how is it that their bodies are not in their tombs, when the bodies of blessed Peter and Paul and the other Apostles and martyrs are known to have been in their own graves.”

“Even in death they were not divided” – so opines Fr Hawes, Oblate of St Charles, quoting Sacred Scripture: for the two who alone stood together beneath the Cross, who dwelt together for long years at Ephesus, are surely united in heaven, together with their Lord, who is for ever her Son, and who constituted St John her son in his stead.

Having opened the heavy folio pages of the Missale O. D. B. M V. of 1785, I offer, now first put online, the Mass of this feast. Laziness (that profane counterpart of the peculiar charism of their Order) has caused me to neglect to transcribe the long ess still used by the printers of that age. It may seem strange that the only Order still to refer to the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin ought use the term Assumption of her adopted son; but a little reflection will reveal that the distinction is a wise and prudent one, permitting the singular grace vouchsafed to the Immaculate Mother of God to be distinguished from that great but lesser blessing accorded to the Fourth Evangelist.

This Mass is rich in Scriptural allusion: throughout, the taking up of Henoch and Elias are referred to most justly as the Old Testament types and foreshadowings of what came to pass in regard to the Fourth Evangelist of the New Testament. The Collect is especially noteworthy; I hope I have copied it out correctly (UPDATE: a kind scholar has pointed out errors both in my transcription of the Latin and in my rubbishy Englishing of it; I have corrected both below).

As for the Secret and Postcommunion, they are taken from the Vigil and Day Masses of Our Lady’s Assumption, as they were in the wider Roman Rite in medieval times. As is common in Dormitionist Masses, the Offertory still retains its verse – and in this case, the Offertory has the same text as the Responsory mentioned above, save for returning to the Vulgate use of assumam, not suscipiam. (After the Latin, I give an English version.)

In Festo Assumptionis Sancti Joannis Apostoli et Evangelistæ

26 Septembris

Introitus    Cf. Gen. v, 24; Ecclus xliv, 16 & xlix, 16

Ambulavit cum Deo, et non apparuit, quia tulit eum Deus: placuit Deo, et translatus est in paradisum, nam et ipse receptus est a terra.

Ps. lxiv, 5. Beatus quem elegisti et assumpsisti: inhabitabit in atriis tuis.

Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto. Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, et in sæcula sæculorum. Amen.

Ambulavit cum Deo, et non apparuit, quia tulit eum Deus: placuit Deo, et translatus est in paradisum, nam et ipse receptus est a terra.

Oratio

Deus, qui beatum Joannem apostolum et evangelistam tuum per electionem tuam ita in gratia confirmasti ut dilectus discipulus Filii tui et Matris Virginis filius virginalis efficeretur, et ad cælos post mortem corpore assumpsisti: tribue quæsumus; ut nos quoque in conspectu tuo sancti et immaculati in caritate inveniri mereamur. Per eumdem Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium tuum, qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti, Deus, per omnia sæcula sæculorum.

Lectio libri Regum.    IV Regum ii, 1-11

In diebus illis: Factum est cum levare vellet Dominus Eliam per turbinem in cælum, ibant Elias et Eliseus de Galgalis. Dixitque Elias ad Eliseum: Sede hic, quia Dominus misit me usque in Bethel. Cui ait Eliseus: Vivit Dominus, et vivit anima tua, quia non derelinquam te. Cumque descendissent Bethel, egressi sunt filii prophetarum qui erant in Bethel, ad Eliseum, et dixerunt ei: Numquid nosti quia hodie Dominus tollet dominum tuum a te? Qui respondit: Et ego novi: silete. Dixit autem Elias ad Eliseum: Sede hic, quia Dominus misit me in Jericho. Et ille ait: Vivit Dominus, et vivit anima tua, quia non derelinquam te. Cumque venissent Jericho, accesserunt filii prophetarum qui erant in Jericho, ad Eliseum, et dixerunt ei: Numquid nosti quia Dominus hodie tollet dominum tuum a te? Et ait: Et ego novi: silete. Dixit autem ei Elias: Sede hic, quia Dominus misit me usque ad Jordanem. Qui ait: Vivit Dominus, et vivit anima tua, quia non derelinquam te. Ierunt igitur ambo pariter, et quinquaginta viri de filiis prophetarum secuti sunt eos, qui et steterunt e contra, longe: illi autem ambo stabant super Jordanem. Tulitque Elias pallium suum, et involvit illud, et percussit aquas: quæ divisæ sunt in utramque partem, et transierunt ambo per siccum. Cumque transissent, Elias dixit ad Eliseum: Postula quod vis ut faciam tibi, antequam tollar a te. Dixitque Eliseus: Obsecro ut fiat in me duplex spiritus tuus. Qui respondit: Rem difficilem postulasti: attamen si videris me quando tollar a te, erit tibi quod petisti: si autem non videris, non erit. Cumque pergerent, et incedentes sermocinarentur, ecce currus igneus, et equi ignei diviserunt utrumque: et ascendit Elias per turbinem in cælum.

Graduale    Heb. xi, 5.

Translatus est, et non inveniebatur, quia transtulit illum Deus.

V. Ante translationem enim testimonium habuit placuisse Deo.

Alleluia, alleluia. V. I Mach. ii, 58 Dum zelat zelum legis, receptus est in cælum. Alleluia.

Sequentia sancti evangelii secundum Joannem.    Joann. xxi, 20-24

In illo tempore: Conversus Petrus vidit illum discipulum, quem diligebat Jesus, sequentem, qui et recubuit in cœna super pectus ejus, et dixit: Domine, quis est qui tradet te? Hunc ergo cum vidisset Petrus, dixit Jesu: Domine, hic autem quid? Dicit ei Jesus: Sic eum volo manere donec veniam, quid ad te? tu me sequere. Exiit ergo sermo iste inter fratres quia discipulus ille non moritur. Et non dixit ei Jesus: Non moritur, sed: Sic eum volo manere donec veniam, quid ad te? Hic est discipulus ille qui testimonium perhibet de his, et scripsit hæc: et scimus quia verum est testimonium ejus.

Offertorium    Cf. Agg. ii, 24; Apoc. ii, 10b. (Cf. Resp. vii. ad Mat., 27 Dec.)

In illum diem assumam te servum meum, et ponam te sicut signaculum in conspectu meo: * Quoniam ego elegi te, dicit Dominus. V. Esto fidelis usque ad mortem, et dabo tibi coronam vitæ. * Quoniam ego elegi te, dicit Dominus.

Secreta

Munera nostra, Domine, apud clementiam tuam beati Joannis apostoli et evangelistæ commendet oratio: quam idcirco de præsenti sæculo transtulisti, ut pro peccatis nostris apud te fiducialiter intercedat. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium tuum, qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti, Deus, per omnia sæcula sæculorum.

Præfatio de Apostolis.

Communio    Sap. iv, 10.

Placens Deo factus est dilectus, et translatus est.

Postcommunio

Mensæ cælestis participes effecti, imploramus clementiam tuam, Domine Deus noster: ut qui assumptionem beati Joannis apostoli et evangelistæ colimus, a cunctis malis imminentibus, ejus intercessione liberemur. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium tuum, qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti, Deus, per omnia sæcula sæculorum.

******

The Assumption of St John the Apostle and Evangelist

26^th September 

Introit    Cf. Gen. v, 24; Ecclus xliv, 16 & xlix, 16

He walked with God, and was seen no more, because God took him: he pleased God, and was translated into paradise, for he also was taken up from the earth.

Ps. lxiv, 5. Blessed is he whom thou hast chosen and taken to thee: he shall dwell in thy courts.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

He walked with God, and was seen no more, because God took him: he pleased God, and was translated into paradise, for he also was taken up from the earth.

Collect

O God, who by thine election didst so confirm in grace blessed John thine apostle and evangelist as to be made the beloved disciple of thy Son and the virginal son of the Virgin Mother, and didst assume him bodily into heaven after death, grant, we beseech thee, that we also may be found holy and unspotted in charity in thy sight. Through the same our Lord Jesus Christ, thy Son, who with thee liveth and reigneth in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.

A lesson from the book of Kings.    IV Kings ii, 1-11

In those days: it came to pass, when the Lord would take up Elias into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elias and Eliseus were going from Galgal. And Elias said to Eliseus: Stay thou here, because the Lord hath sent me as far as Bethel. And Eliseus said to him: As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And when they were come down to Bethel, the sons of the prophets, that were at Bethel, came forth to Eliseus, and said to him: Dost thou know that this day the Lord will take away thy master from thee? And he answered: I also know it: hold your peace. And Elias said to Eliseus: Stay here because the Lord hath sent me to Jericho. And he said: As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And when they were come to Jericho, the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho, came to Eliseus, and said to him: Dost thou know that this day the Lord will take away thy master from thee? And he said: I also know it: hold your peace. And Elias said to him: Stay here, because the Lord hath sent me as far as the Jordan. And he said: As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee; and they two went on together, and fifty men of the sons of the prophets followed them, and stood in sight at a distance: but they two stood by the Jordan. And Elias took his mantle and folded it together, and struck the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, and they both passed over on dry ground. And when they were gone over, Elias said to Eliseus: Ask what thou wilt have me to do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Eliseus said: I beseech thee that in me may be thy double spirit. And he answered: Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless if thou see me when I am taken from thee, thou shalt have what thou hast asked: but if thou see me not, thou shalt not have it. And as they went on, walking and talking together, behold a fiery chariot, and fiery horses parted them both asunder: and Elias went up by a whirlwind into heaven.

Gradual    Heb. xi, 5.

He was translated; and he was not found, because God had translated him.

V. For before his translation he had testimony that he pleased God.

Alleluia, alleluia. V. I Macc. ii, 58 While he was full of zeal for the law, he was taken up into heaven. Alleluia.

The continuation of the holy Gospel according to John.    John xxi, 20-24

At that time: Peter turning about, saw that disciple whom Jesus loved following, who also leaned on his breast at supper, and said: Lord, who is he that shall betray thee? Him therefore when Peter had seen, he saith to Jesus: Lord, and what shall this man do? Jesus saith to him: So I will have him to remain till I come, what is it to thee? follow thou me. This saying therefore went abroad among the brethren, that that disciple should not die. And Jesus did not say to him: He should not die; but, So I will have him to remain till I come, what is it to thee? This is that disciple who giveth testimony of these things, and hath written these things; and we know that his testimony is true.

Offertory    Cf. Agg. ii, 24; Apoc. ii, 10b. (Resp. vii. ad Mat., 27 Dec.)

In that day I will take thee up, my servant, and will make thee as a signet in my sight, * For I have chosen thee, saith the Lord. V. Be thou faithful until death: and I will give thee the crown of life. * For I have chosen thee, saith the Lord.

Secret

May our gifts, O Lord, be commended to thy clemency by the prayer of blessed John the apostle and evangelist, whom thou didst take up out of this present life, that he might faithfully intercede before thee for our sins. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, thy Son, who with thee liveth and reigneth in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.

Preface of the Apostles 

Communion   Wis. iv, 10.

He pleased God and was beloved, and he was translated.

Postcommunion

Made partakers of the heavenly banquet, we implore thy clemency, O Lord our God, that we, who honour the assumption of blessed John the apostle and evangelist, may be freed through his intercession from all threatening evils. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, thy Son, who with thee liveth and reigneth in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.