Solemnity of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist
June 24, 2024
Today’s Readings:
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/062424.cfm
From this David’s descendants God, according to the 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.’
Acts 13:23-25
John the Baptist was a striking figure written across the pages of scripture. His astonishing lifestyle, his passionate preaching, and his resolute moral witness established him as a giant in human history.
Surely he could have personally profited from his extraordinary gifts and ability to inspire discipleship in his listeners. But instead, this was the Baptist’s message:
Listen people, you ain’t seen nothing yet!
Behold, One is coming after me;
I am not worthy to unfasten the sandals of his feet.
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy:
We ask to be humble, selfless heralds for Christ in our world. May the Gospel impel us to live in such a way that our very being announces God’s Lavish Mercy for the world.
Poetry: John the Baptist – Philip C. Kolin
Out of the wilderness came this prophet of fire
and repentance, his voice a flame igniting
souls out of darkness to witness the Messiah.
Wherever he went bonfires reddened the night air.He wore a tunic of camel hair, and a rope
cincture binding unruly flesh from
appetite; he lived on locusts and burr-
nested cones. When he entered the Jordanit flowed east, away from the sin-crusted west.
Each wave was engraved with grace as he plunged
sinners heavy with the world’s woes under
only to lift them up toward the light.
But not the Pharisees. Stones would rise sooner.When he announced Christ passing by,
the birds of the air carried each honeyed syllable
to every open heart and sin-ridden soul.
Music: Ut queant laxis – Latin Hymn to John the Baptist
1. Ut queant laxis resonáre fibris
Mira gestórum fámuli tuórum,
Solve pollúti lábii reátum, Sancte Joánnes.
2. Núntius celso véniens Olýmpo
Te patri magnum fore nascitúrum,
Nomen, et vitae sériem geréndae
Ordinae promit.
3. Ille promíssi dúbius supérni,
Pérdidit promptae módulos loquélae:
Sed reformásti genitus perémptae
Organa vocis.
4. Ventris obstrúso récubans cubíli
Sénseras Regem thálamo manéntem:
Hinc parens nati méritis utérque Abdita pandit.
5. Sit decus Patri, genitaéque Proli
et tibi, compare utriúsque virtus,
Spíritus semper, Deus unus, omni
Témporis aevo.
Amen.
- O for your spirit, holy John, to chasten
Lips sin-polluted, fettered tongues to loosen;
So by your children might your deeds of wonder
Meetly be chanted. - Lo! a swift herald, from the skies descending,
Bears to your father promise of your greatness;
How he shall name you, what your future story,
Duly revealing. - Scarcely believing message so transcendent,
Him for a season power of speech forsaketh,
Till, at your wondrous birth, again returneth,
Voice to the voiceless. - You, in your mother’s womb all darkly cradled,
Knew your great Monarch, biding in His chamber,
Whence the two parents, through their offspring’s merits,
Mysteries uttered. - Praise to the Father, to the Son begotten,
And to the Spirit, equal power possessing,
One God whose glory, through the lapse of ages,
Ever resounding. Amen.
Lavish Mercy 
”No greater man was born of a woman than John the Baptist”.
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Beautiful Reflection! Love the poem. John the Baptist’s journey, his message is so relevant to today! His humility is striking. Reminds me of the prayer, “Live humbly and know that I am God”. Thanks Renee!
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