THE NATIVITY OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST - 2023

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

As for you, little child, you shall be called
a prophet of God, the Most High.
You shall go ahead of the Lord
to prepare his ways before him. LK 1:76

ISAIAH 49:1-6 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Each one of us, born in our time, is called to be a messenger of the Good News and to spread the Gospel of Love and Life to the nations. Today, the Church honours and celebrates the life of St. John the Baptist, the pre-cursor, the forerunner, the new Elijah, who prepared the way for Your coming.

From the first moment when he encountered You while both You and he were in Your respective mother's womb, he leaped for joy in Your Presence and was filled with the Holy Spirit. He was consecrated and given his mission from that moment on. He was on fire with zeal and he was not cowed down by the political or religious authorities of his time. He called out and named the sins of those who had the power to destroy him but that did not deter him. 

He mortified and tamed his body so his whole being could focus on fulfilling the will and plan of God. He prepared the way for Your coming. He invited all those who flocked to listen to him preach to repent of their sins for the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world would soon be among them. 

And when the hour had arrived for him to decrease so You could increase, he did so joyfully as the friend of the Bridegroom rejoices with him. Grant us the same generosity of spirit O Lord and a consuming zeal to spread the Gospel by the witness of our lives.

PSALM 138(139):1-3,13-15 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

I rejoice in Your intimate knowledge of me. With You I can be myself with all my faults, failings, and foibles for You love me regardless of the fact that I am a sinner and quite unworthy of Your love.

I desire O Lord, to rest quietly in You, fearing nothing, anxious about nothing, desiring nothing but rejoicing in Your closeness and Your unfathomable by unquestionable love for me. 

How do I know that You love me to distraction? Because You lay down Your life for me, You bore my sins, You endured the punishment that was mine, You died my death in order for me to receive Your life. This life I now live is all Yours my Beloved,

do with me just as you will.

ACTS 13:22-26 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Crowds flocked each day to hear John the Baptist and to be baptized by him. He preached a baptism of repentance for sins. Yet he did not permit the adulation of the crowds to swell his head and make him prideful, boastful, and covetous of the fact that he was only the messenger of the Good News. He was the friend of the Bridegroom, not the Bridegroom and he was fully and humbly aware that he was unworthy to even loosen the straps of Your sandals. 

So many of us get puffed up and filled with vain glory at the gifts and charisms that are given to us by the Holy Spirit to build by one another, to build up the Church. We have not merited any of it - all is pure. Too often we allow the gifts to crowd out the presence of the Giver of the gifts.

Keep us ever aware O Lord that we are but servants who must labor faithfully in the Master's vineyard to bring in the harvest. Neither the vineyard nor the harvest is ours all belongs to You and as servants, we will all be held accountable for our stewardship. Keep us faithful, humble, and obedient O Lord, all the days of our lives.

LUKE 1:57-66,80 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

When our whole being is caught up in doing Your will, serving You, and being attentive and obedient to Your commandments we will be filled with supernatural joy and peace and experience the freedom that belongs to the children of God.

As soon as Zechariah wrote on the tablet, 'His name is John' the name revealed by the messenger of God, his tongue was loosened and when the power of speech returned to him, he sang a hymn of exultant praise to God. A hymn full of prophecy and promise, of hope and of joy for God had visited His people.

So many astounding things took place since the Angel's visit to Zechariah - God had pierced the veil of time and space and God walked among His people. The tragedy was that these people whom God chose, God led, God perfected through many trials, ultimately rejected You. But this was all part of God's glorious plan - because of their rejection, the Gospel was preached to the Gentiles and we are saved. 

Someday Your people too will believe. We long for that day, we pray for that day, hasten its coming Lord, for it will hasten Your coming as well. Maranatha Lord Jesus, Maranatha.