Jun 23 2024 5 mins
The Nativity of St John the Baptist
"Lk 1:57-66, 80"
Elizabeth gave birth to a son...And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they would have named him Zechariah after his father, but his mother said, "Not so; he shall be called John"...they all marvelled...And all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea; and all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, "What then will this child be?"
"What then will this child be?" That question could be asked about every baby in the world, because God has made everyone for something. This isn't the first time that we hear about St John. Three months before, Our Lady came to visit her cousin and "when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb". St John felt the presence of Jesus in Mary's womb and leaped for joy.
When babies are little, all their features are tiny, like the eyes or the nose. Little by little they develop and we can start recognising more and more the features of their parents. We know that, from the beginning, they have everything; but it takes time to mature. They - like St John – also have a mission from the moment of their conception. That vocation is there from the beginning, but it takes time to recognise and carry it out.
My Lord, help me to remind people that all human beings have a purpose; all babies have a mission; to remind them also that You, Lord, are a Father, Who loves them so much that You sent Your Only Son to die for them. "What then will this child be?" said my parents when I was born. You, Lord, knew well what I was going to be. I don't know yet many of the things that I should be, but there is one I do know, Lord: 'I'm meant to be a saint!'
Holy Mary, Mother of the children of God, I pray today for all those who are facing difficult decisions about the life of their children. I pray especially for all those babies that aren't allowed to live and to become what God wanted them to be. What would have happened if St John had never been allowed to be born? We can't know for certain; all we know is that, as with any other baby, there would have been a hole in the heart of his parents and in history; and tears in the eyes of God.
"Lk 1:57-66, 80"
Elizabeth gave birth to a son...And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they would have named him Zechariah after his father, but his mother said, "Not so; he shall be called John"...they all marvelled...And all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea; and all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, "What then will this child be?"
"What then will this child be?" That question could be asked about every baby in the world, because God has made everyone for something. This isn't the first time that we hear about St John. Three months before, Our Lady came to visit her cousin and "when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb". St John felt the presence of Jesus in Mary's womb and leaped for joy.
When babies are little, all their features are tiny, like the eyes or the nose. Little by little they develop and we can start recognising more and more the features of their parents. We know that, from the beginning, they have everything; but it takes time to mature. They - like St John – also have a mission from the moment of their conception. That vocation is there from the beginning, but it takes time to recognise and carry it out.
My Lord, help me to remind people that all human beings have a purpose; all babies have a mission; to remind them also that You, Lord, are a Father, Who loves them so much that You sent Your Only Son to die for them. "What then will this child be?" said my parents when I was born. You, Lord, knew well what I was going to be. I don't know yet many of the things that I should be, but there is one I do know, Lord: 'I'm meant to be a saint!'
Holy Mary, Mother of the children of God, I pray today for all those who are facing difficult decisions about the life of their children. I pray especially for all those babies that aren't allowed to live and to become what God wanted them to be. What would have happened if St John had never been allowed to be born? We can't know for certain; all we know is that, as with any other baby, there would have been a hole in the heart of his parents and in history; and tears in the eyes of God.