Every 24th of June, Catholics usually celebrate the Solemnity of the Nativity of John the Baptist. Holy Gospel tells us about the joyful moment when John was born and also how his father Zechariah gave a name to John. He was named John/ Yohan, which in Hebrew means “God is gracious”. And indeed, God was gracious to John’s parents by giving them a child in their old age. They could not bear child, but with God’s blessing, they were worthy to become parents of a great prophet of God. John is unique among God’s prophets because when he was in his mother’s womb, he gave witness to Jesus already as the Son of God by leaping at the presence of Jesus in Mary’s womb.
John became a great prophet of God because of his humility and fidelity in carrying out the mission of God that God had entrusted to him. We could see his humility clearly when some people thought that he was the Messiah, he right away clarified that he was just a man who prepared the way for the Messiah.
On this red-letter day, the day of Nativity of John the Baptist; we ask God to bless us so that we can have humility like St. John the Baptist. Also, we may have a joyful heart in bearing witness to Jesus Christ, our Lord. Keep in our mind that every day and every time, God is always gracious to us. Amen.
By Fr Risco Batbual, SVD
No comments:
Post a Comment