Saints + Scripture: Nativity of Saint John the Baptist

The Long Road Back, Part II of V | Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea máxima culpa!

Sunday, 24 June was the Solemnity of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist (six months B.C.): Baptist-link ūnus, Baptist-link duo, Wikipedia-link Nativity, & Wikipedia-link Baptist.

Commentary: Wayback Machine. The Solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist is always celebrated on 24 June, overriding even what would have been the Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Quoth the Holy Redeemer bulletin:

The Nativity of John the Baptist is a Christian feast day celebrating the birth of John the Baptist, a prophet who foretold the coming of the Messiah in the person of Jesus, Whom he later baptized.

Quoth the Catholic Community of Flint bulletin:

The focus of this week's readings is that John the Baptist prepared the way for Jesus & His ministry. God's plan of salvation, coming to be through His chosen people who freely say "yes," includes John the Baptist. In the first reading, we hear that God calls & forms His servants from the womb. The reading from Acts speaks of those whom God raised up to do his work, including John the Baptist, In Luke's Gospel, Elizabeth gives birth & proclaims that the boy's name will be John.

Scripture of That Week
Mass Readings—Solemnity of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist: Vigil Mass
The Book of Jeremiah, chapter one, verses four thru ten;
Psalm Psalm Seventy-one, verses one & two, three & four(a), five & six(a/b), & fifteen(a/b) & seventeen;
The First Letter of Peter, chapter one, verses eight thru twelve;
The Gospel according to Luke, chapter one, verses five thru seventeen.

Mass Readings—Solemnity of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist: Mass during the Day
The Book of Isaiah, chapter forty-nine, verses one thru six;
Psalm One Hundred Thirty-nine, verses one(b), two, & three; thirteen & fourteen(a/b); & fourteen(c) & fifteen;
The Acts of the Apostles, chapter thirteen, verses twenty-two thru twenty-six;
The Gospel according to Luke, chapter one, verses fifty-seven thru sixty-six & eighty.

Commentary: Reflection by Bishop Robert Barron (Word on Fire):

Friends, today’s Gospel celebrates the birth of John the Baptist. I think it’s fair to say that you cannot really understand Jesus without understanding John, which is precisely why all four Evangelists tell the story of the Baptist as a kind of overture to the story of Jesus.

John did not draw attention to himself. Rather, he presented himself as a preparation, a forerunner, a prophet preparing the way of the Lord. He was summing up much of Israelite history, but stressing that this history was open-ended, unfinished.

And therefore, how powerful it was when, upon spying Jesus coming to be baptized, he said, "Behold the Lamb of God." No first-century Israelite would have missed the meaning of that: behold the one who has come to be sacrificed. Behold the sacrifice, which will sum up, complete, and perfect the Temple. Moreover, behold the Passover lamb, who sums up the whole meaning of that event and brings it to fulfillment.

And this is why John says, "He must increase and I must decrease." In other words, the overture is complete, and now the great opera begins. The preparatory work of Israel is over, and now the Messiah will reign.

Video reflection by Father Greg Friedman, O.F.M.: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Video reflection by Mister Jeff Cavins (Ascension Presents): Encountering the Word.

Audio reflection by Scott Hahn, Ph.D. (St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology): Breaking the Bread.

Mass Journal: Week Twenty-six
Reflection by Matthew Kelly, founder of the Dynamic Catholic Institute:

Only one thing is necessary for Catholicism to flourish—authentic lives. Throughout history, wherever you find men & women genuinely striving to live the Christian life, the Church has always blossomed. If we wish to speak effectively to the modern world about God, the Christian life, & Catholicism, we must be thriving, blossoming, & flourishing in that life. The best way to speak about God is to thrive in the life He calls us to live. The authentic life begins with the simple desire to be who God created us to be & cooperate with God by playing the part He has designed for us in human history. The adventure of salvation begins when we stop asking, "What's in it for me?" & turn humbly to God in our hearts & ask, How may I serve? What work do you wish for me to do with my life? What is Your will for my life?

†

Had 24 June not been a Sunday, 'twould also have been the festival of Saint Bartholomew of Farne, Priest & Religious, O.S.B. (died 1193; A.K.A. Tostig, William, of Durham): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link.

Papal Quote o' That Day

"An unexpected child, St. John the Baptist, called out to the people. He told them to prepare for a heavenly announcement, an invitation to universal rebirth."
—Pope St. John XXIII (1881-1963, feast day: 11 October)

Little Flower Quote o' That Day

"This fire from heaven—You have placed it in my soul & I, too, want to spread its passion."
—St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Doctor of the Church (1873-1897, feast day: 1 October)

Saint Quote o' That Day

"He must increase. I must decrease."
—St. John the Baptist (1 B.C.-A.D. 31, feast days: 24 June, 29 August)