tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3589378.post7109733989080311398..comments2023-10-21T05:40:55.660-04:00Comments on man with black hat: Christ-Mass: Day 3 (St John)David L Alexanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13871706129906941567noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3589378.post-3885690001101230262013-12-28T10:42:34.869-05:002013-12-28T10:42:34.869-05:00One of the roots of this tradition is the understa...One of the roots of this tradition is the understanding that John's special charism was his mystical contemplation when he lay nearest to the Lord at the Last Supper (John 13:23). As he rested his head upon Christ’s breast, John drank from the Lord's heart—the <i>fons sapientiae</i>, the source of wisdom (Ecclesiasticus / Sirach 1:5 [Vulgate])—in fulfillment of Christ’s words, “If any one thirst, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as the scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water’” (John 7:37-38).<br /><br />The image of John reclining with the Lord was a common medieval trope for mystical contemplation, as illustrated for example in a famous 13th-century <i>Andachtsbild</i> from Switzerland, which you can see together with an antiphon for St. John by the Visionary Doctor, St. Hildegard of Bingen, in my post from yesterday: <a href="http://nathaniel-campbell.blogspot.com/2013/12/o-speculum-columbe-hildegard-of-bingen-symphonia-35.html" rel="nofollow">"O speculum columbe" (Symphonia 35)</a>.Nathaniel M. Campbellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01835009706332559978noreply@blogger.com