Posted in St JOHN the BAPTIST, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 25 June – ‘A Voice is born” – The Nativity of St John the Baptist

Quote/s of the Day – 25 June – The Nativity of St John the Baptist

And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary,
the baby leaped in her womb.
And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit …
“For behold, when the sound
of your greeting came to my ears,
the baby in my womb leaped for joy.

Luke 1:41,44

I tell you, among those born of women,
no-one is greater than John;
yet the least in the kingdom of God
is greater than he.

Luke 7:28

At my birth,
I took away my mother’s barrenness
and while still an infant,
I healed my father’s dumbness,
for You gave me in childhood,
the gift of working miracles.

St Gregory the Illuminator (c 213-270)
Bishop

As a representative of the past,
he is born of aged parents,
as herald of the new,
he is declared to be a prophet,
while still in his mother’s womb.

The release of Zechariah’s voice
at the birth of John,
is a parallel to the rending
of the veil, at Christ’s Crucifixion.
If John were announcing his own coming,
Zechariah’s lips would not have been opened.
The tongue is loosened because a voice is born.

John is a voice for a time
but Christ is the eternal Word,
from the beginning
.”

St Augustine (354-430)
Bishop, Father, Doctor of Grace

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Posted in FATHERS of the Church, St JOHN the BAPTIST, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 25 June – ‘ … Consider, then, the merit of the holy Baptist …’

One Minute Reflection – 25 June – “The Month of the Sacred Heart” – The Nativity of St John the Baptist – Isaias 49:1-3, 5-7, Luke 1:57-68

“Immediately his mouth was opened, his tongue freed and he spoke blessing God.” – Luke 1:64

“When John, his son was born, among his neighbours there was concern about what name he should be given. Writing tablets were offered to his father, so that he himself could put down the name that he had decided upon, so that he might express, in writing, what he could not, in speech. Then, in a wonderful manner, when he had taken the tablets in order to begin writing, his tongue was loosened, the written word gave way to speech and he did not write “John” but spoke it. Consider, then, the merit of the holy Baptist: he gave his father back his voice, he restored the faculty of speech to the priest. Consider, I say, his merit – John unloosed the mouth that the angel had bound. What Gabriel had closed, the little child unlocked. When John is born, the father suddenly becomes a prophet or priest, speech attains its use, love receives an offspring, the office recognises the priest.” – – St Maximus of Turin (Died c 420) Bishop of Turin, Father (Sermon 6) St Maximus’ Feast Day today.

PRAYER – O God, Who made this a day most worthy of our celebration because of blessed John; grant Thy people the grace of spiritual joys and direct the minds of all the faithfu, into the path of eternal salvation. Through Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).
OUR Lady of the Sacred Heart, Pray for Us! Indulgence 100 Days. Everytime – Raccolta 174 St Pius X, 9 July 1904.

Posted in BREVIARY Prayers, FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, HYMNS, Our MORNING Offering, St JOHN the BAPTIST

Our Morning Offering – 25 June – John, the Chosen One

Our Morning Offering – 25 June – The Nativity of St John the Baptist

John, the Chosen One
Lauds Hymn
for the Nativity of St John the Baptist
Stanbrook Abbey Hymnal

God called great prophets to foretell
the coming of His Son.
The greatest, called before His birth,
was John, the chosen one.

His life was filled with joy and hope;
he knew he must decrease,
and that we must prepare a place
where Jesus may increase.

John searched in solitude for Christ
and knew Him when He came.
He showed the world the Lamb of God
and hailed Him in our name.

That lonely voice cried out the truth
Derided and denied.
As witness to the law of God
His mighty Martyr died.

We praise You, Trinity in One,
the light of unknown ways,
the hope of all who search for You
whose love fills all our days.

Posted in BREVIARY Prayers, CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, MORNING Prayers, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, SAINT of the DAY, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 24 June – “The Benedictus”

One Minute Reflection – 24 June – The Solemnity of the Birth of Saint John the Baptist, Year C, Gospel:  Luke 1:57–66

“And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed and he spoke, blessing God.”…Luke 1:64

REFLECTION – “The Benedictus, is prayed every morning in the Breviary and so, the Church remembers this “forerunner of Jesus” at the beginning of every day.   The opening words of this Canticle are the source of its Latin title, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel”.
What does it mean for Catholics, that we sing this song about John the Baptists at the start of every new day?   After having been “silenced” by sleep throughout the night, God opens our mouths and one of the first things we do, is to sing this blessing of God, whose dawn breaks forth to shine on us and guide our way to peace.
In the Benedictus, we join ourselves to the mission of St John the Baptist, who came to prepare a way for the Lord by being a witness of God’s salvation, living a simple and penitential life and calling others to do the same.   Our work each day, then, is to use our voice – like Zechariah and his son – and the witness of our lives, to make God’s presence known wherever we go and to whom whomever we encounter.”the benedictus - 24 june 2019- the nativity of st john the baptist.jpg

PRAYER
The Benedictus – Canticle of Zechariah
Luke 1:68-79
The Messiah and His forerunner

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;
He has visited His people and redeemed them.

He has raised up for us a mighty saviour,
in the house of David, His servant,
as He promised by the lips of holy men,
those who were His prophets of old.

A Saviour who would free us from our foes,
from the hands of all who us.
So His love for our fathers is fulfilled
and His holy covenant remembered.

He swore to Abraham, our father, to grant us,
that free from fear and saved from the hands of our foes.
we might worship Him in justice and holiness
all the days of our lives, in His Presence.

As for you, little child,
you shall be called the prophet of God, the Most High.
You shall go ahead of the Lord
to prepare His ways before Him,

to make known to His people their salvation,
through forgiveness of all their sins,
the loving kindness of the heart of our God,
who visits us like the dawn from on high.

He will give light to those in darkness,
those who dwell in the shadow of death
and to guide us into the way of peace.

Glory to the Father and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and will be for ever.
Amenthe benedictus 24 june 2019 NEW - 6.jpgthe benedictus 24 june 2019 NEW 2.jpg

St John the Baptist, Pray for Us!

st-john-the-baptist-pray-for-us-24-june-2018

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

The Nativity of Saint John the Baptist and Memorials of the Saints – 24 June

The Nativity of Saint John the Baptist (Solemnity) 
Biography:   https://anastpaul.com/2018/06/24/the-solemnity-of-the-nativity-of-st-john-the-baptist-24-june/

St Aglibert of Créteil
St Agoard of Créteil
St Alena of Brussels
St Amphibalus of Verulam
St Bartholomew of Farne
Bl Christopher de Albarran
St Erembert I of Kremsmünster
St Faustus of Rome and Companions
St Festus of Rome
St Germoc
St Gohardus of Nantes
Bl Henry of Auxerre/the Hagiographer
St Ivan of Bohemia
St John of Rome
St John of Tuy
St Joseph Yuan Zaide
Bl Maksymilian Binkiewicz
St Maria Guadalupe García Zavala (1878-1963)
St Rumold
St Simplicio of Autun
Bl Theodgar of Vestervig
St Theodulphus of Lobbes

Martyrs of Satala:  Seven Christian brothers who were soldiers in the imperial Roman army.   They were kicked out of the military, exiled and eventually martyred in the persecutions of Maximian.   We know little more about them than their names – Cyriacus, Firminus, Firmus, Longinus, Pharnacius, Heros and Orentius.   The martyrdoms occurred in c 311 at assorted locations around the Black Sea.