O God, who through the blessed Apostle John have unlocked for us the secrets of your Word,
grant, we pray, that we may grasp with proper understanding what he has so marvellously
brought to our ears. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns
with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.
There are a couple of unique features of today's feast. Firstly, unlike all the other Apostles and Evangelists, St John is celebrated in white, rather than in red. The tradition is that all the others were martyred, but John was not, and this is connected with the ending of his Gospel.
