John the Baptiser was a relative of Jesus and He was much loved by Him. Jesus said, "Of all born of women (which would be everyone) none greater than John the Baptist has been born".
The Nativity of Saint John the Baptist - Solemnity
John the Baptist has always been a role model for me. He spoke against authority that was evil and he was arrested and put in prison. He didn't fear judgement by earthly courts and ultimately lost his life, beheaded in prison at the request of the King's adulterous wife.
What made his greatness? Not his number of followers on Twitter or Facebook, of his position in the Church or politics, nor his clothing (he wore camel skin with a leather belt).
It was his integrity. That's what makes for true greatness. John the Baptist never aspired to become great. He just did what he believed was right and spoke the truth in all circumstances even when it was not popular.
I chose the date for my first Mass as a priest on the second Sunday of Advent so I could read the Gospel story of John the Baptist and say how I want to be like him. He didn't preach himself, he preached Jesus Christ and His message of hope for the poor and those who have lost hope.
I am not a great person but I aspire to become a better imitator of John the Baptist.
John said of Jesus, "He must increase, I must decrease" (Jn 3,30)
It is also my goddaughter's birthday today. Kathleen is my niece and I am very proud of her too. She has achieved well and I hope she will do great things with her life too..
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Here is the readings for Mass today with a commentary:
Isaiah 49:1-6.
Hear me, O islands, listen, O distant peoples. The Lord called me from birth, from my mother's womb he gave me my name.
He made of me a sharp-edged sword and concealed me in the shadow of his arm. He made me a polished arrow, in his quiver he hid me.
You are my servant, he said to me, Israel, through whom I show my glory.
Though I thought I had toiled in vain, and for nothing, uselessly, spent my strength, Yet my reward is with the LORD, my recompense is with my God.
For now the LORD has spoken who formed me as his servant from the womb, That Jacob may be brought back to him and Israel gathered to him; And I am made glorious in the sight of the LORD, and my God is now my strength!
It is too little, he says, for you to be my servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and restore the survivors of Israel; I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.
He made of me a sharp-edged sword and concealed me in the shadow of his arm. He made me a polished arrow, in his quiver he hid me.
You are my servant, he said to me, Israel, through whom I show my glory.
Though I thought I had toiled in vain, and for nothing, uselessly, spent my strength, Yet my reward is with the LORD, my recompense is with my God.
For now the LORD has spoken who formed me as his servant from the womb, That Jacob may be brought back to him and Israel gathered to him; And I am made glorious in the sight of the LORD, and my God is now my strength!
It is too little, he says, for you to be my servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and restore the survivors of Israel; I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.
Ps 139(138):1b-3.13-14ab.14c-15.
O LORD, you have probed me, you know me:
You know when I sit and when I stand;
You understand my thoughts from afar.
My journeys and my rest you scrutinize,
With all my ways you are familiar.
Truly you have formed my inmost being;
You knit me in my mother's womb.
I give you thanks that I am fearfully, wonderfully made;
wonderful are your works.
My soul also you knew full well;
nor was my frame unknown to you
When I was made in secret,
when I was fashioned in the depths of the earth.
Acts 13:22-26. You know when I sit and when I stand;
You understand my thoughts from afar.
My journeys and my rest you scrutinize,
With all my ways you are familiar.
Truly you have formed my inmost being;
You knit me in my mother's womb.
I give you thanks that I am fearfully, wonderfully made;
wonderful are your works.
My soul also you knew full well;
nor was my frame unknown to you
When I was made in secret,
when I was fashioned in the depths of the earth.
In those days, Paul said: “God raised up David as king; of him God testified, I have found David, son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will carry out my every wish.
From this man's descendants God, according to his promise, has brought to Israel a savior, Jesus.
John heralded his coming by proclaiming a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel;
and as John was completing his course, he would say, 'What do you suppose that I am? I am not he. Behold, one is coming after me; I am not worthy to unfasten the sandals of his feet.'
"My brothers, children of the family of Abraham, and those others among you who are God-fearing, to us this word of salvation has been sent".
From this man's descendants God, according to his promise, has brought to Israel a savior, Jesus.
John heralded his coming by proclaiming a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel;
and as John was completing his course, he would say, 'What do you suppose that I am? I am not he. Behold, one is coming after me; I am not worthy to unfasten the sandals of his feet.'
"My brothers, children of the family of Abraham, and those others among you who are God-fearing, to us this word of salvation has been sent".
Luke 1:57-66.80.
When the time arrived for Elizabeth to have her child she gave birth to a son.
Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy toward her, and they rejoiced with her.
When they came on the eighth day to circumcise the child, they were going to call him Zechariah after his father,
but his mother said in reply, "No. He will be called John."
But they answered her, "There is no one among your relatives who has this name."
So they made signs, asking his father what he wished him to be called.
He asked for a tablet and wrote, "John is his name," and all were amazed.
Immediately his mouth was opened, his tongue freed, and he spoke blessing God.
Then fear came upon all their neighbors, and all these matters were discussed throughout the hill country of Judea.
All who heard these things took them to heart, saying, "What, then, will this child be?" For surely the hand of the Lord was with him.
The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the desert until the day of his manifestation to Israel.
Commentary of the day :
Saint Maximus of Turin (?-c.420), Bishop
Sermon 99 ; PL 57, 535
Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy toward her, and they rejoiced with her.
When they came on the eighth day to circumcise the child, they were going to call him Zechariah after his father,
but his mother said in reply, "No. He will be called John."
But they answered her, "There is no one among your relatives who has this name."
So they made signs, asking his father what he wished him to be called.
He asked for a tablet and wrote, "John is his name," and all were amazed.
Immediately his mouth was opened, his tongue freed, and he spoke blessing God.
Then fear came upon all their neighbors, and all these matters were discussed throughout the hill country of Judea.
All who heard these things took them to heart, saying, "What, then, will this child be?" For surely the hand of the Lord was with him.
The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the desert until the day of his manifestation to Israel.
Commentary of the day :
Saint Maximus of Turin (?-c.420), Bishop
Sermon 99 ; PL 57, 535
Rightly indeed can John the Baptist say of the Lord our Savior: “He must increase but I must decrease” (Jn 3,30). The statement is being fulfilled at this very moment: at Christ's birth the days grow longer, at John's they grow shorter... When the Savior appears it is clear that the day increases and it declines at the birth of the last of the prophet's, for it is written: “The Law and the prophets lasted until John” (Lk 16,16). Inevitably the observance of the Law sank in shadow when the grace of the Gospel began to shine. The glory of the New Testament takes the place of the prophecy of the Old...The evangelist says with regard to our Lord Jesus Christ: “He was the true light who enlightens every man” (Jn 1,9)... It was when the duration of the night was extending over almost the whole of the day that our Lord's coming suddenly cast all its brightness. If his birth cast out the darkness of humankind's sins, his coming put an end to night and brought us light and day...Our Lord says that John is a lamp: “He was a burning and shining lamp” (Jn 5,35). But the light of a lamp pales when the sun shines: its flame dies down, overcome by an even more radiant light. What sensible person uses a lamp in full sunlight?... Who would still come for John's baptism of repentance (Mk 1,4) when Jesus' baptism brings salvation?
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