Solemnity of the Nativity of John the Baptist

Readings of the day: RB 18:12-19

Mass: Is 49:1-6; Resp Ps 139; Ac 13:22-26; Lk 1:57-66, 80

Hagia Sophia, 13th Century Mosaic, Istanbul

He will be called John.

John the Baptist, man of utter simplicity ‘clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist; his food was locusts and wild honey’ (Mk 1:6) and marked determination, ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths’ (Mt 3:3). John ‘grew and became strong in spirit’ (Lk 1:80) then appeared, preaching in the desert: ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!’ (Mt 3:2). Is there one way in which you can simplify your life, one thing you can get rid of, or one burden you can unload in order to prepare your heart to encounter the Lord? HE must increase; I must decrease (Jn 3:30). For further consideration: The lighter one is, the less encumbered with ‘stuff’, the higher one can leap when Jesus enters the room. 😊

Christian spirituality proposes a growth marked by moderation and the capacity to be happy with little. It is a return to that simplicity which allows us to stop and appreciate the small things, to be grateful for the opportunities which life affords us, to be spiritually detached from what we possess, and not to succumb to sadness for what we lack. This implies avoiding the dynamic of dominion and the mere accumulation of pleasures.

(Laudato Si, 222)

Like St John the Baptist, Christians have to humble themselves

so that the Lord can grow in their hearts.

(Pope Francis, Twitter, June 24, 2018)