On the third day there was (became) a wedding
in Cana of Galilee
and the mother of Jesus was there.
Now Jesus and his disciples
also were invited to the wedding.

And the wine having run out
the mother of Jesus said to him:
‘They have no wine.’
And Jesus said to her:
What is your business to do with me, Lady?
My hour has not yet come.’
His mother said to the servants:
Whatever he says to you, do it.

Eternal Light, shine into our hearts,
Eternal Goodness, deliver us from evil,
Eternal Power, be our support,
Eternal Wisdom, scatter the darkness of our ignorance,
Eternal Pity, have mercy upon us;
that with all our heart and mind
and soul and strength we may seek thy face
and be brought by thine infinite mercy
to thy holy presence;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Alcuin (735-804)

Jesus saw Nathaniel
coming to him
and said about him –
‘Look, truly, an Israelite
in whom no deceit exists’

Nathaniel said to him:
‘From where do you know me?’
Jesus answered and said to him:
‘Before Philip called
when you were under the fig tree
I saw you.’
Nathaniel replied:
‘Rabbi, you are the son of God,
you are the King of Israel.’

Jesus answered and said to him:
“Because I said to you
that I saw you under the fig tree,
you believe, do you?
You will see greater than this.

And he said to him:
‘Amen, amen, I say to you all,
You all will see heaven opened
and the angels of God
going up and coming down
on the Son of Man’

Be thou a bright flame before me,
Be thou a guiding star above me
Be thou a smooth path below me
Be thou a kindly shepherd behind me
Today – tonight -forever
Amen.

St Columba

The next day
he (Peter or Jesus) decided to set out for Galilee,
and found Philip.
And Jesus said to him:
‘Follow me.’
(Now Philip was from Bethsaida,
from the town of Andrew and Peter.)

Philip found Nathaniel
and said to him:
‘The one Moses wrote about in the Law
and the Prophets (too)
we have found-
Jesus, son of Joseph, from Nazareth.
And Nathaniel said to him:
From Nazareth! can there be anything good?
Philip said to him
‘Come and see.’

Be thou a bright flame before me,
Be thou a guiding star above me
Be thou a smooth path below me
Be thou a kindly shepherd behind me
Today – tonight -forever
Amen.

St Columba

Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter,
was one of the two disciples
who had heard from John
and followed him.
Firstly he found his own brother Simon
and said to him:
We have found the Messiah
(which is translated the Anointed One).
He led him to Jesus.
Jesus looked at him and said:
“You are Simon, the son of John,
you will be called Cephas,
(which is translated Peter).

O Love, O God who created me, in your love recreate me.
O Love, who redeemed me,
fill up in me whatever part of your love
has fallen into neglect within me.
O Love, O God, who first loved me,
grant that with my whole heart,
and with my whole soul,
and with my whole strength,
I may love you.

Gertrude the Great

On the next day,
John
and two of his disciples
again stood
and
having looked straight at Jesus
walking by
he said
‘Look the Lamb of God!.’
And
his disciples heard (him) speaking
and
followed Jesus.
Jesus having turned
also having seen them
following
says to them
“What are you seeking?’
but they said to him
“Rabbi…
which translated means ‘Teacher’
… where are you staying?’
He says to them:
‘Come and you will see.’
So they went and saw where he was staying
and they stayed during that day with him.
It was about the tenth hour.

Teach us, good Lord,
to serve thee as thou deservest;
to give and not to count the cost;
to fight and not to heed the wounds;
to toil and not to seek for rest;
to labour and not to ask for any reward,
save that of knowing that we do thy will,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen

St Ignatius

On the next day,
he (John) sees Jesus coming to him
and says:
“Look, the Lamb of God,
who takes away the sin of the world.
This is the one about whom I spoke:
A man comes after me
who became before me / is my superior
since he was prior to me.
And I did not know him
but so that he might be revealed to Israel
for this reason I came, baptizing in water.

Also John bore witness, saying:
I have seen the Spirit coming down
as a dove from the sky
and it stayed on him.
And I did not know him
but the one who sent me to baptize in water
he said to me:
Upon whoever you see the Spirit coming down
and stay upon
he is the who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.
And I have seen,
and I have been bearing witness that
that he is the Son of God.

Grant, Lord,
that we may hold to you without parting,
worship you without wearying,
serve you without failing;
faithfully seek you,
happily find you,
and forever possess you,
the only God,blessed now and for ever.
Amen

St Anselm

And some of those having been sent,
were from the Pharisees.

And they asked him:
‘Then, why do you baptize,
if you are not the Christ, not Elijah, not the prophet?’
John answered them:
‘I am baptizing in water,
In your midst, stands one you do not know.
The one before me, is coming
I am not worthy
so that I may untie the straps of (his) sandals,

These things became in Bethany,
beyond the Jordan,
where John was baptizing.

Thank you, dear Jesus,
for all you have given me,
for all you have taken away from me,
for all you have left me.

Thomas More (c.1478-1535)

And this is the witness of John,
when the Judeans of Jerusalem sent
(to him)
priests and Levites to ask him:
‘Who are you?’
And he confessed
and did not deny
and he confessed :
‘I am not the Messiah.’

And they asked him:
‘What then? Are you Elijah?’
And John answered them:
‘I am not.’
‘Are you the prophet?’
and he answered
‘No’

So they said to him:
‘Who are you?
so that we might give an answer to those who sent us,
what do you say about yourself?’

He said
I am a voice of one crying out in the wilderness
Make straight the Lord’s Road. ¹
as the prophet Isaiah said.

1. Isaiah 40:3 ↩︎

Thank you, dear Jesus,
for all you have given me,
for all you have taken away from me,
for all you have left me.

Thomas More (c.1478-1535)

Because from his fulness
we all have received (a share)
namely grace
upon grace;
because the law was given
through Moses,
(but) grace and truth became
through Jesus Christ.
Nobody has ever seen God:
the only son,
God,
who is in the bosom of the Father,
that one has revealed him.

O Lord Jesus Christ,
stay beside me to defend me,
within me to guide me,
before me to lead me,
and above me to bless me,
that with you and in you,
I may live, and move and have my being,
for ever and ever.
Amen.

(unknown)

And the Word became flesh
and he lived among us,
and we looked at his glory:
glory as an only son of a father,
full of grace and truth.

John bears witness to him,
and cried out
“This is is the one I spoke about:
‘The one coming after me,
he became before me
because he was very first before me’”

Eternal God and Fatther,
you create us by your power,
and redeem us by your love,
guide and strengthen us by your Spirit,
that we may give ourselves in love and service
to one another and to you;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.