The WORD
today (see http://usccb.org/bible/readings/062417.cfm)
reminds me that God has great plans for me.
Today, we celebrate the
solemnity of the Nativity of St John the
Baptist. We know that he is a cousin or a relative of Jesus, and he
did great things for God’s kingdom. He preached about the kingdom and the
Messiah, but was consistent in denying that he was the chosen one. he prepared
the way for Jesus, and worked hard doing so.
Supporting cast
can be great too.
John
the Baptist was not talking about himself. He was preparing the way for Jesus.
He directed all attention to Jesus, never to himself. This reminds us that we
need not be overachievers to be great in God’s eyes. What matters to him is our
hearts – that we point to him all the time.
When John was born, holy fear
came to his town. They were thinking that he would be a mighty person, since
his birth is a special occasion. And indeed he did great. This reminds me that
we too should strive to be great and do great things for God. No matter where
we are right now, no matter what we have done in the past, all the sins we have
committed, is not as important as what lies ahead of us.
God’s plans for us are greater than our past.
In
the same way that John allowed himself to be used by God, we too just need to
allow ourselves to be used by God. He will use us mightily, we just have to
surrender and submit to his will.
May
we be ready to surrender to God, and like John, let God lead our lives for his
greater glory.
Father God,
Thank you for
today. Thank you for another day to live. Thank you for another weekend. thank
you for another reminder. Lord, I am sorry for the times I only think of
myself. Sorry for the times I just do what I want, regardless of the
implications or the moral issues of my actions. Sorry for the times I doubt
your great plans for me. Sorry for the times I look down on myself. Help me be
like John. Help me to always submit to you and allow you to use me to build
your kingdom here on earth. May I be able to do great things for you and
through you. amen.
Blessed
weekend!
In
Christ,
-g-
Solemnity of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist
Mass during the Day
Lectionary: 587
Reading 1IS 49:1-6
listen, O distant peoples.
The LORD called me from birth,
from my mother's womb he gave me my name.
He made of me a sharp-edged sword
and concealed me in the shadow of his arm.
He made me a polished arrow,
in his quiver he hid me.
You are my servant, he said to me,
Israel, through whom I show my glory.
Though I thought I had toiled in vain,
and for nothing, uselessly, spent my strength,
yet my reward is with the LORD,
my recompense is with my God.
For now the LORD has spoken
who formed me as his servant from the womb,
that Jacob may be brought back to him
and Israel gathered to him;
and I am made glorious in the sight of the LORD,
and my God is now my strength!
It is too little, he says, for you to be my servant,
to raise up the tribes of Jacob,
and restore the survivors of Israel;
I will make you a light to the nations,
that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.
Responsorial PsalmPS 139:1B-3, 13-14AB, 14C-15
O LORD, you have probed me, you know me:
you know when I sit and when I stand;
you understand my thoughts from afar.
My journeys and my rest you scrutinize,
with all my ways you are familiar.
R. I praise you, for I am wonderfully made.
Truly you have formed my inmost being;
you knit me in my mother's womb.
I give you thanks that I am fearfully, wonderfully made;
wonderful are your works.
R. I praise you, for I am wonderfully made.
My soul also you knew full well;
nor was my frame unknown to you
When I was made in secret,
when I was fashioned in the depths of the earth.
R. I praise you, for I am wonderfully made.
Reading 2ACTS 13:22-26
"God raised up David as king;
of him God testified,
I have found David, son of Jesse, a man after my own heart;
he will carry out my every wish.
From this man's descendants God, according to his 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.'
"My brothers, sons of the family of Abraham,
and those others among you who are God-fearing,
to us this word of salvation has been sent."
AlleluiaSEE LK 1:76
You, child, will be called prophet of the Most High,
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelLK 1:57-66, 80
she gave birth to a son.
Her neighbors and relatives heard
that the Lord had shown his great mercy toward her,
and they rejoiced with her.
When they came on the eighth day to circumcise the child,
they were going to call him Zechariah after his father,
but his mother said in reply,
"No. He will be called John."
But they answered her,
"There is no one among your relatives who has this name."
So they made signs, asking his father what he wished him to be called.
He asked for a tablet and wrote, "John is his name,"
and all were amazed.
Immediately his mouth was opened, his tongue freed,
and he spoke blessing God.
Then fear came upon all their neighbors,
and all these matters were discussed
throughout the hill country of Judea.
All who heard these things took them to heart, saying,
"What, then, will this child be?"
For surely the hand of the Lord was with him.
The child grew and became strong in spirit,
and he was in the desert until the day
of his manifestation to Israel.
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