Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 06-24-05, Solemnity,Nativity of St. John the Baptist

For your reading, reflection, faith-sharing, comments, questions, discussion.

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From: Acts 13:22-26

Preaching in the Synagogue of Antioch of Pisidia (Continuation)

(Paul said to the Jews,) [22] "And when He had removed him (King Saul),
He raised up David to be their king; of whom He testified and said, "I
have found in David the son of Jesse a man after My heart, who will do
all My will.' [23] Of this man's posterity God has brought Israel a
Savior, Jesus, as He promised. [24] Before His coming John had
preached a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. [25] And
as John was finishing his course, he said, 'What do you suppose that I
am? I am not He. No, but after me One is coming, the sandals of whose
feet I am not worthy to untie.'

[26] "Brethren, sons of the family of Abraham, and those among you that
fear God, to us has been sent the message of this salvation."

Commentary:

16-41. Paul's address here is an excellent example of the way he used
to present the Gospel to a mixed congregation of Jews and proselytes.
He lists the benefits conferred by God on the chosen people from
Abraham down to John the Baptism (verses 16-25); he then shows how all
the messianic prophecies were fulfilled in Jesus (verses 26-37), and,
by way of conclusion, states that justification comes about through
faith in Jesus, who died and then rose from the dead (verse 38-41).

This address contains all the main themes of apostolic preaching, that
is, God's saving initiative in the history of Israel (verses 17-22);
reference to the Precursor (verses 24-25); the proclamation of the
Gospel or "kerygma" in the proper sense (verses 26b-31a); mention of
Jerusalem (verse 31b); arguments from Sacred Scripture (verses 33-37),
complementing apostolic teaching and tradition (verses 38-39); and a
final exhortation, eschatological in character, announcing the future
(verses 40-41). In many respects this address is like those of St.
Peter (cf. 2:14ff; 3:12ff), especially where it proclaims Jesus as
Messiah and in its many quotations from Sacred Scripture, chosen to
show that the decisive event of the Resurrection confirms Christ's
divinity.

Paul gives a general outline of salvation history and then locates
Jesus in it as the expected Messiah, the point at which all the various
strands in that history meet and all God's promises are fulfilled. He
shows that all the steps which lead up to Jesus Christ, even the stage
of John the Baptist, are just points on a route. Earlier, provisional
elements must now, in Christ, give way to a new, definitive situation.

"You that fear God" (verse 26): see the notes on Acts 2:5-11 and 10:2.

Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text
taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries
made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of
Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock,
Co. Dublin, Ireland.

From: Luke 1:57-66, 80

The Birth and Circumcision of John the Baptist

[57] Now the time came for Elizabeth to be delivered, and she gave
birth to a son. [58] And her neighbors and kinsfolk heard that the
Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her.
[59] And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they
would have named him Zechariah after his father, [60] but his mother
said, "Not so; he shall be called John." [61] And they said to her,
"None of your kindred is called by this name." [62] And they made
signs to his father, inquiring what he would have him called.
[63] And he asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, "His name is John."
And they all marvelled. [64] And immediately his mouth was opened and
his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God. [65] And fear came on
all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through
all the hill country of Judea; [66] and all who heard them laid them up
in their hearts, saying "What then will this child be?" For the hand
of the Lord was with him.

[80] And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the
wilderness till the day of his manifestation to Israel.

Commentary:

59. Circumcision was a rite established by God under the Old Covenant
to mark out those who belonged to His chosen people: He commanded
Abraham to institute circumcision as a sign of the Covenant He had made
with him and all his descendants (cf. Genesis 17:10-14), prescribing
that it should be done on the eighth day after birth. The rite was
performed either at home or in the synagogue, and, in addition to the
actual circumcision, the ceremony included prayers and the naming of
the child.

With the institution of Christian Baptism the commandment to circumcise
ceased to apply. At the Council of Jerusalem (cf. Acts 15:1ff), the
Apostles definitely declared that those entering the Church had no need
to be circumcised.

St. Paul's explicit teaching on the irrelevance of circumcision in the
context of the New Alliance established by Christ is to be found in
Galatians 5:2ff; 6:12ff; and Colossians 2:11ff.

60-63. By naming the child John, Zechariah complies with the
instructions God sent him through the angel (Luke 1:13).

64. This miraculous event fulfills the prophecy the angel Gabriel made
to Zechariah when he announced the conception and birth of the Baptist
(Luke 1:19-20). St. Ambrose observes: `With good reason was his tongue
loosed, because faith untied what had been tied by disbelief"
("Expositio Evangelii Sec. Lucam. in loc.").

Zechariah's is a case similar to that of St. Thomas, who was reluctant
to believe in the resurrection of our Lord, and who believed only when
Jesus gave him clear proof (cf. John 20:24-29). For these two men God
worked a miracle and won their belief; but normally He requires us to
have faith and to obey Him without His working any new miracles. This
was why He upbraided Zechariah and punished him, and why He reproached
Thomas: "Have you believed because you have seen Me? Blessed are those
who have not seen and yet believe" (John 20:29).

80. "Wilderness": this must surely refer to the "Judean wilderness" which
stretches from the northwestern shores of the Dead Sea to the hill
country of Judea. It is not a sand desert but rather a barren steppe
with bushes and basic vegetation which suit bees and grasshoppers or wild
locusts. It contains many caves which can provide shelter.

Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text
taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries
made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of
Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock,
Co. Dublin, Ireland.

Moon still up Mass bump.Baby Sarh almost died 2 nights ago,turned blue on her father and he slapped her and she cryed.She is 6 months old and fine now and they are doing tests.

Scary, scary. Prayers for all.

Catholic Culture

Collect:
God our Father, you raised up John the Baptist to prepare a perfect people for Christ the Lord. Give your Church joy in spirit and guide those who believe in you into the way of salvation and peace. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Recipes:

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» Tortillas de Harina
» Welsh Rarebit

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Activities:

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Prayers:

June 24, 2005

Solemnity of the Birth of St. John the Baptist

Old Calendar: Nativity of St. John the Baptist

This feast, a segment of Advent in the season of Ordinary Time, makes us aware of the wonderful inner relationship between the sacred mysteries; for we are still in the midst of one Church year and already a bridge is being erected to the coming year of grace.

Ordinarily the Church observes the day of a saint's death as his feast, because that day marks his entrance into heaven. To this rule there are two notable exceptions, the birthdays of Blessed Mary and of St. John the Baptist. All other persons were stained with original sin at birth, hence, were displeasing to God. But Mary, already in the first moment of her existence, was free from original sin (for which reason even her very conception is commemorated by a special feast), and John was cleansed of original sin in the womb of his mother. This is the dogmatic justification for today's feast. In the breviary St. Augustine explains the reason for today's observance in the following words:

"Apart from the most holy solemnity commemorating our Savior's birth, the Church keeps the birthday of no other person except that of John the Baptist. (The feasts of the Immaculate Conception and of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin had not yet been introduced.) In the case of other saints or of God's chosen ones, the Church, as you know, solemnizes the day on which they were reborn to everlasting beatitude after ending the trials of this life and gloriously triumphing over the world."

For all these the final day of their lives, the day on which they completed their earthly service is honored. But for John the day of his birth, the day on which he began this mortal life is likewise sacred. The reason for this is, of course, that the Lord willed to announce to men His own coming through the Baptist, lest if He appeared suddenly, they would fail to recognize Him. John represented the Old Covenant and the Law. Therefore he preceded the Redeemer, even as the Law preceded and heralded the new dispensation of grace."

In other words, today's feast anticipates the feast of Christmas. Taking an overall view, we keep during the course of the year only two mysteries, that of Christ's Incarnation and that of His Redemption. The Redemption mystery is the greater of the two; the Incarnation touches the human heart more directly. To the Redemption mystery the entire Easter season is devoted, from Septuagesima until Pentecost; and likewise every Sunday of the year, because Sunday is Easter in miniature.

The Christmas season has for its object the mystery of God-become-Man, to which there is reference only now and then during the remaining part of the year, e.g., on Marian feasts, especially that of the Annunciation (March 25) and today's feast in honor of the Baptist. In a sense, then, we are celebrating Christ's incarnation today. The birth of Jesus is observed on December 25 at the time of the winter solstice, while the birth of His forerunner is observed six months earlier at the time of the summer solstice. Christmas is a "light" feast; the same is true today. The popular custom centering about "St. John's Fire" stems from soundest Christian dogma and could well be given renewed attention. St. John's Fire symbolizes Christ the Light; John was a lamp that burned and shone. We Christians should be the light of the world.

Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch

Patron: Baptism; bird dealers; converts; convulsions; convulsive children; cutters; epilepsy; epileptics; farriers; hail; hailstorms; Knights Hospitaller; Knights of Malta; lambs; Maltese Knights; lovers; monastic life; motorways; printers, spasms; tailors; Genoa, Italy; Quebec; Sassano, Italy; Diocese of Savannah, Georgia; Diocese of Charleston, South Carolina; Diocese of Dodge City, Kansas; Diocese of Paterson, New Jersey; Diocese of Portland, Maine.

Symbols: Lamb; lamb on a book of seven seals; locust; camel's hair tunic; girdle; his head on a charger; scroll with words Ecce Agnus Dei or with Vox Clamantis in deserto; long, slender cross-tipped staff; open Bible; banner of victory.

Things to Do:

Read about the traditions connected with this feast, particularly the connection with bonfires.
The Liturgy of the Hours for the Evening Prayer (Vespers) of the Birth of St. John the Baptist has traditionally included the Gregorian chant Ut Queant Laxis. Tradition has ascribed the hymn to a Paul Warnefried (Paul the Deacon, 730-799). While preparing to sing the Exsultet at the Holy Saturday vigil, he found himself hoarse, and so prayed to St. John the Baptist, since his father lost his voice before John was born. Paul's voice was restored and he wrote this hymn in honor of the saint. True or not, what makes this song memorable is that the Benedictine monk used this hymn as a pivotal reference for our musical scale. See Catholic Encyclopedia's entry Ut Queant Laxis, more information on the hymn from Catholic Culture, a Beginner's Guide to Modal Harmony, and Gregorian Chant Notation.
The Church year has two cycles. The more important cycle is the Temporal cycle (from the Latin tempus which means time or season). The life of Christ is relived in liturgical time, in both real time and Church's memory. Throughout the year the Paschal Mystery (Christ's work of redemption through His birth, life, passion, death, and resurrection and ascension) is relived, and broken down into the seasons of Advent, Christmas, Lent, Holy Week, Easter and Ordinary Time. Sundays are the usual means by which this cycle unfolds.
At the same time with the temporal cycle, the Sanctoral cycle (from the Latin sanctus which means saint) progresses. The Church honors Mary, Mother of God "with a special love. She is inseparably linked with the saving work of her son" (CCC 1172). Then the memorials of martyrs and other saints are kept by the Church. They are held up to us as examples "who draw all men to the Father through Christ, and through their merits she begs for God's favors" (CCC 1173).
This is one of the few saint feast days that is connected with the temporal calendar, not the sanctoral calendar, because John the Baptist was intimately involved in Christ's work of redemption. Charting or making your own liturgical calendar would be a great family project.
Read the excerpt from the Directory on Popular Piety on the cult of St. John the Baptist.
In Brazil, this day is known as Diário de Sáo Joáo (Saint John's Day). The festivities are set off in the villages and countryside by the Fogueira de Sáo Joáo (bonfire) on St. John's eve. Families and friends eat traditional foods around the fire while younger folks jump over the fire and firecrackers are exploded. The day is primarily a festival for children, who save up months in advance to purchase fireworks to set off for the day. In cities this is a day for parties and dances, with the urban dwellers dressing up in rural costumes.
St. John is the protector of lovers, so for fun, young country girls in Brazil will roll up scraps of paper, each bearing a name of a single girl and place them into a bowl of water. The first one which unfolds indicates the girl who will marry first.

Hi, everyone. You have FReepmail.

Salvation . Sarah was drinking her bot and playing with a toy when we all got to the hospital.You know I love you.She is ok now and they are doing tests.

June 22 is the day of the year with the shortest night, after which the nights lengthen. John's birth is marked on June 24.

December 22 is the day with the shortest night, after which the days lengthen, and everyone knows Christmas is the 25th.

As John said: 'He must increase, but I must decrease.' (St John 3:30)

Also, in the old Divine Office, this hymn was sung today, the Nativity of St John Baptist:

Ut queant laxis resonare fibris
Mira gestórum famuli tuórum,
Solve pollúti labii reátum,
Sancte Joánnes. ...

It is the Ut Queant Laxis Resonare Fibris, and its melody 'led to the syllabic naming of the notes as Ut, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La'.

I was hoping that someone would post that quote! Thank you.

"Pent in the closet of the womb, thy Saviour
Thou didst adore within His chamber shrined:
Thus did each parent in their unborn offspring
Mysteries find."

"Some crowns with glory thirtyfold are shining;
Others, a double flower and fruit combining:
Thy trinal chaplet bears an intertwining
Hundredfold fruitage."

Which translation is most accurate?

Which translation is most accurate?

I'll plead 'ignoramus' and defer to the Latinists here.

Homily of the Day

Homily of the Day

Title:	Are You Receiving the Surprises God Is Sending
Author:	Monsignor Dennis Clark, Ph.D.
Date:	Friday, June 24, 2005

Feast of the Birth of John the Baptist

Lk 1:57-66

A jetliner was roaring down the runway when, just before takeoff, the pilot reversed engines, slammed on the brakes, and taxied back to the gate. Then it just sat there for more than an hour before finally taking off. A nervous passenger asked the flight attendant what had happened. "Well," she explained, "the pilot was really worried by a noise he heard in the engine, and it took us all this time to find another pilot!"

+ + +

A surprise, but not a happy one!

It's hard to imagine the surprise that the parents of John the Baptist felt when they discovered Elizabeth was pregnant. They were old, really old! And childless! And suddenly there was a baby: Their lives were transformed, and they never would have dreamed it!

God still has lots of surprises, even for the oldest among us — gifts and blessings we've not yet even imagined. Many of them are already on the way. But will we receive them? Will we even notice when they arrive on our doorstep? We may, and then again we may not. It all depends on what we've decided to value, what we've decided is worth noticing, and what's not.

An example: If "success" and "winning" are our priorities, we'll look at people in a very specific, limited way. We'll see them as potentially useful tools and also as possible adversaries, and we won't see much else. That way of looking at people screens out their best parts and leaves the gift of a new friend lying unnoticed on the cutting room floor. God sends us wonderful gifts, but too often we don't receive them.

Another example: If "peace and quiet" is our ultimate priority, the only real place for us is the grave. But that won't stop some of us from trying to insulate ourselves from the world. And the payoff will be empty, cranky lives. We'll be mad at our neighbors, mad at the guy who wants a hand-out, mad at our kids, mad at the little girl who picks a flower from our yard and then disturbs us by ringing the doorbell to give it to us. Our peace-and-quiet priority will screen out life's nicest gifts, and leave us narrower and narrower, sadder and sadder, meaner and meaner.

If, on the other hand, we listen to Jesus and make God's family our top priority, the flow of wonderful gifts will never stop: The upturned face of a child who knows we can be trusted, the confident stride of a troubled kid we helped grow into a doctor, the tender gaze of someone who knows how hard we're trying, the hug of a friend we rescued from disaster. So many unexpected gifts will fill our days, because we learned from Jesus how to see, how to love, and how give ourselves as a gift.

God never runs out of surprises. For those who know how to see and how to love, every day will be full of them, right up to our last day. Then God's best surprise will just fall into our hands, because we knew how to see and what to love.

Live what you've learned from Jesus, and you'll have a future full of surprises, a future you never could have dreamed up on your own!

The Word Among Us

Friday, June 24, 2005

Meditation
Luke 1:57-66,80

John the Baptist was the greatest of all the prophets who came before Jesus. This man confronted secular and religious leaders, comforted tax collectors and prostitutes, and lived a life dedicated to prayer and fasting. But more importantly, John heralded the Messiah and came to be known as the “friend of the bridegroom” (John 3:29).

Do you believe that God has just as marvelous a plan for you as he had for John? Is it hard to believe that before you even saw the light of day, God has established a way in which you would advance his kingdom? Perhaps you feel that you’re not all that significant; but that isn’t the way God looks at you. What if your prayers of intercession were the force behind a major work of God in another corner of the world? What if you were called to raise children to become prophetic voices in the church or in the world?

We must learn to see things from God’s point of view. Consider how obscure John’s life was. Until the time when he revealed himself to the people of Israel, he lived in solitude, tucked away in the desert. We too may be waiting in a wilderness, but we should not despair. We should instead value our time of hidden-ness as an opportunity for God to teach us—a time for him to develop gifts of intercession, evangelism, or even healing in us. At just the right time, God will reach into the hearts of just the right people and touch them through us.

Most of us are like “hidden arrows” waiting for just the right time. We should not stop asking the Lord to accomplish his purposes through us. Imagine what the church would look like if we all let God work in our hearts to the degree that John the Baptist did. Just as thousands flocked to John for baptism, our witness, our prayer, our reaching out in love can soften and change the hearts of thousands. May we never underestimate God or sell short the power of his Spirit dwelling in us!

“Father, accomplish your plan for my life. Show me in what direction you want to take me and teach me to value times of hiddenness. Form me, Lord, and use me as your own.”

Isaiah 49:1-6; Psalm 139:1-3,13-15; Acts 13:22-26

One Bread, One Body

<< Friday, June 24, 2005 >>

Birth of St. John the Baptizer

Isaiah 49:1-6
Acts 13:22-26

Psalm 139
Luke 1:57-66, 80

View Readings

A “DEAR JOHN” LETTER

“The Lord called me from birth, from my mother’s womb He gave me my name.” —Isaiah 49:1

Scientists talk about the genetic code which determines the physiological characteristics a pre-born baby will manifest. The child in the womb will possess the physical traits programmed into the DNA of the fetal cells. Christians refer to the lifelong calling of God made known not only to the child in the womb (Is 49:1; Ps 139:13-15), but even before the earth was formed (Eph 1:4-5).

John the Baptizer was “filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother’s womb” (Lk 1:15). While still in the womb, John began his prophetic ministry of heralding the coming of Jesus (Acts 13:24), leaping for joy at the sound of the voice of the mother of his Lord (Lk 1:41). At John’s birth, a miraculous healing occurred (Lk 1:64), and God received much glory (Lk 1:64, 67ff). The hearts of many were turned to the Lord even before John grew to adulthood (see Lk 1:65-66).

Each person shares the mission of John the Baptizer: to prepare the way of the Lord for some individual or group of people (Mt 3:3). You might have been an unwanted child, but God wanted you and has an important plan for you (Heb 11:40; Eph 2:10). God knows you intimately (Ps 139:1-5) and has “called you by name” (Is 43:1). In Jesus, you are greater than John the Baptizer (Mt 11:11). Therefore, lead others to Jesus, the Lamb of God (Jn 1:36-37).

Prayer: Jesus, may I decrease so that You may increase (Jn 3:30).

Promise: “I will make you a light to the nations, that My salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.” —Is 49:6

Praise: God anointed the birth of St. John so powerfully that “throughout the hill country of Judea” the story of his birth “began to be recounted to the last detail” (Lk 1:65).

Nativity of the Forerunner, John the Baptist, June 24

Saints John The Baptist, Zachary and Elizabeth[THE BIRTH OF ST JOHN THE BAPTIST]

Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, have mercy on us.

Christ, hear us. Christ, graciously hear us.

God the Father of Heaven, Have mercy on us.

God the Son, Redeemer of the world, Have mercy on us.

God the Holy Ghost, Have mercy on us.

Holy Trinity, One God, Have mercy on us.

Holy Mary, pray for us.
Queen of Prophets, pray for us.
Queen of Martyrs, pray for us.
Saint John the Baptist, pray for us.
St. John the Baptist, precursor of Christ, pray for us.
St. John the Baptist, glorious forerunner of the Sun of Justice,
pray for us.
St. John the Baptist, minister of baptism to Jesus, pray for us.
St. John the Baptist, burning and shining lamp of the world, pray for us.
St. John the Baptist, angel of purity before thy birth, pray for us.
St. John the Baptist, special friend and favorite of Christ, pray for us.
St. John the Baptist, heavenly contemplative, whose element was prayer,
pray for us.
St. John the Baptist, intrepid preacher of truth, pray for us.
St. John the Baptist, voice crying in the wilderness, pray for us.
St. John the Baptist, miracle of mortification and penance, pray for us.
St. John the Baptist, example of profound humility, pray for us.
St. John the Baptist, glorious martyr of zeal for God's holy law, pray for us.
St. John the Baptist, gloriously fulfilling thy mission, pray for us.

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Spare us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Hear us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Have mercy on us.

Christ, hear us. Christ, graciously hear us.

V. Pray for us, O glorious St. John the Baptist,
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us Pray:
O God, Who hast honored this world by the birth of Saint John the Baptist, grant that Thy faithful people may rejoice in the way of eternal salvation, through Jesus Christ Our Lord.
R. Amen.