Untie the Sandals

Memorial of Saint Basil the Great and Saint Gregory
Nazianzen, bishops and doctors of the Church


And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent from Jerusalem priests and Levites to him, to ask him: Who art thou? And he confessed, and did not deny: and he confessed: I am not the Christ. And they asked him: What then? Art thou Elias? And he said: I am not. Art thou the prophet? And he answered: No. They said therefore unto him: Who art thou, that we may give an answer to them that sent us? What sayest thou of thyself? He said: I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Isaias. And they that were sent, were of the Pharisees. And they asked him, and said to him: Why then dost thou baptize, if thou be not Christ, nor Elias, nor the prophet? John answered them, saying: I baptize with water; but there hath stood one in the midst of you, whom you know not. The same is he that shall come after me, who is preferred before me: the latchet of whose shoe I am not worthy to loose. These things were done in Bethania, beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
John 1:19-28 (Douay-Rheims Bible)

Prayer Reflection

Dear Father this is one voice that truly did your will. The one who admonishes us to make straight our ways. Yet he was paving the way for Jesus at the time. Even now his words resound throughout our Churches for us to mend our ways. To be baptized in water so we may become baptized with the Spirit. John said he wasn't worthy to untie the lace of Jesus' shoe, yet he was. How often we feel unworthy to tackle a task that is ours to tackle. How many times we push it aside and we are nudged daily or periodically to complete the task. Why is it that when God calls us to do something and we in our own negativity about ourselves refuse to see that the hand of God is prompting us to do His Will. John did God's will, but that didn't make him feel worthy to untie Jesus sandals. He had the grace to proclaim the coming Kingdom. Why is it we have a hard time even openly speaking of our faith. Who is the worthy one after all.

John's Mission

Monday of the Fourth Week of Advent Mass in the Morning


And Zachary his father was filled with the Holy Ghost; and he prophesied, saying: Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; because he hath visited and wrought the redemption of his people: And hath raised up an horn of salvation to us, in the house of David his servant: As he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets, who are from the beginning: Salvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us: To perform mercy to our fathers, and to remember his holy testament, The oath, which he swore to Abraham our father, that he would grant to us, That being delivered from the hand of our enemies, we may serve him without fear, In holiness and justice before him, all our days. And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways: To give knowledge of salvation to his people, unto the remission of their sins: Through the bowels of the mercy of our God, in which the Orient from on high hath visited us: To enlighten them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death: to direct our feet into the way of peace.
Luke 1:67-79 (Douay-Rheims Bible)

Prayer Reflection

Dear Father your sending us what we need most, your loving Son to guide our steps. You gave us a powerful prophet in John the Baptist to prepare the way for Him. So we would no longer sit in darkness but in the light of your Son. He came to teach us to repent of our sins so we would be open to your Son Jesus. He gives us a path to you, because our human natures need repentance and forgiveness for the way we live our lives. What a prophet John the Baptist was to lead us home. May we seek to reconcile our heart and souls to you dear Father, for you are the home we seek. Amen

Memorial of the Martyrdom of Saint John the Baptist

For Herod himself had sent and apprehended John, and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias the wife of Philip his brother, because he had married her. For John said to Herod: It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife. Now Herodias laid snares for him: and was desirous to put him to death, and could not. For Herod feared John, knowing him to be a just and holy man: and kept him, and when he heard him, did many things: and he heard him willingly.

And when a convenient day was come, Herod made a supper for his birthday, for the princes, and tribunes, and chief men of Galilee. And when the daughter of the same Herodias had come in, and had danced, and pleased Herod, and them that were at table with him, the king said to the damsel: Ask of me what thou wilt, and I will give it thee. And he swore to her: Whatsoever thou shalt ask I will give thee, though it be the half of my kingdom. Who when she was gone out, said to her mother, What shall I ask? But she said: The head of John the Baptist. And when she was come in immediately with haste to the king, she asked, saying: I will that forthwith thou give me in a dish, the head of John the Baptist.

And the king was struck sad. Yet because of his oath, and because of them that were with him at table, he would not displease her: But sending an executioner, he commanded that his head should be brought in a dish. And he beheaded him in the prison, and brought his head in a dish: and gave it to the damsel, and the damsel gave it to her mother. Which his disciples hearing came, and took his body, and laid it in a tomb.
Mark 6:17-29 (Douay-Rheims)

Prayer

Dear Father your forgiveness is great but that doesn't give us the right to sin and exclude your commandments in our life. I have read the account of a woman who went beyond and fell deeply into the abyss. Your servant John proclaimed your kingdom and spoke of the sins that are committed by those who are above others in rank. But this happens to many in our day too, but not all are repentant and some are caught in the web of deceit by the hand of others. Our conscience gives us the voice of righteousness just as John the Baptist was the voice to herald the kingdom of God. John's message bothered those who are rooted in darkness. He lost his life for his love of you dear Father, making way for your Son Jesus. His very life was lost to keep him silent. We rejoice in John's proclamation of your Commandments and upholding the value of your kingdom for all time to come. May we not silence the voice that sets us on the path to you. May we listen when we know we err to correct our sin, by heeding your commandments and killing instead of the messenger, the sin that causes us to fall away from you. Sin is sin and it cause us to severe the ties that keep us close to you. May we also seek out the sacrament of Penance and reconcile ourselves to your Holy Will. Amen

Solemnity of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist

When the time arrived for Elizabeth to have her child
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.
Luke 1:57-66, 80

Dear Father you gave us John to prepare the way for your Son. We read of the silence of a man who doubted and upon doing your will by naming him John received his voice. But he did the most spectacular thing, he blessed God and praised him when he could speak. The Lord our God gave this family a role to play for ages to come. To show the goodness of the Lord and to help us see the life of the chosen one's he calls by name to do his will. May we also prepare ourselves as John was chosen to prepare the way for Jesus' coming. We in our time have Jesus with us always in the Eucharist, let us seek reconciliation in the confessionals of our Churches as a way of purifying our hearts for the Lord. Amen