Our Patron, Saint John the Evangelist
We desire our school to be the embodiment of Jesus’ beloved disciple, St. John the Evangelist. He tells us, “[a]s the Father loves me, so I also love you. Abide in my love” (15:9). John understood these words and was the only one of Jesus’ disciples who remained with Him to the end. What was his secret? He KNEW he was Jesus' beloved disciple. This gave him the confidence and faith to place his head on Jesus’ bosom at the Last Supper as he received his first Holy Communion. How many divine mysteries of faith and love were communicated to him there - Heart to heart? We surely see the fruit of this encounter in John’s ability to endure the Passion with Jesus. St. John the Evangelist reveals in his Gospel the greatest treasures of our Catholic Faith - Jesus’ longing to be intimately one with us through His Incarnation, through the Eucharist, and through Mary’s motherhood. Surely, his profoundly deep understanding of these mysteries stems from his time spent in Jesus’ daily presence, at the foot of the Cross, and in his home with Mary after being entrusted as her son by Jesus himself.
What more could we want for our students here at Chesterton? Like John, who was most likely a teenager himself when he left everything to follow Jesus, we want our students to proclaim as apostles and evangelists what they learn as beloved disciples. They will have this opportunity while receiving Communion daily at His bosom, knowing how to remain joyful with Jesus, even when sharing His Cross, and living in Mary’s company as her sons and daughters.
