Saints + Scripture: The Nativity of St. John the Baptist

Better Late than Never | Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea máxima culpa!

Religious Freedom Week '19
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops: YouTube-link & U.S.C.C.B.-link.

'Tis the Solemnity of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist (six months B.C.): Baptist-link ūnus, Baptist-link duo, Wikipedia-link Baptist, Wikipedia-link Nativity, & Wikipedia-link Saint John's Eve.

Commentary: Wayback Machine. Son of Ss. Zechariah [23 September] & Elizabeth [5 November].

Quoth the Holy Redeemer bulletin:

Christians have long interpreted the life of John the Baptist as a preparation for the coming of Jesus Christ, & the circumstances of his birth, as recorded in the New testament, are miraculous. John's pivotal place in the gospel is seen in the emphasis Luke gives to the announcement of his birth & the event itself, both set in prominent parallel to the same occurrences int he life of Jesus.

Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings—Solemnity of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist
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 Monsignor James Vlaun: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Mass Readings—Vigil of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist
The Book of Jeremiah, chapter one, verses four thru ten;
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.

Scripture Study—Day 91: Covenant Crag, Day 8
The Book of Genesis, chapter seven, verses one & eleven thru twenty-four.

Commentary: The Great Flood (Genesis, 7:1, 11-24).

Papal Quote o' the 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' the 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' the Day

"In the Sacrament of Confirmation, we are brought into God’s spiritual army & into the lay priesthood of believers. Confirmation, like any other sacrament, is modeled upon the life of our Lord. Jesus had a double priestly anointing, corresponding to two aspects of His life. First was the Incarnation; that made Him capable of being a victim for our sins. Because in the Incarnation He took upon Himself a body, the human nature with which He could suffer, & therefore redeem us from our sins. As God, He could not suffer, but as man He could. This first aspect of the life of our Blessed Lord culminated in His Passion & death & Resurrection. Now there was another aspect of His life, a second anointing as it were, & that was the coming of the Holy Spirit in the Jordan. That ordained Him for the mission of preaching the apostolate, & this reached its culmination, as far as the Church was concerned, in Pentecost."
—Venerable Fulton Sheen (1895-1979)