Honour to You, John,
holy and God-fearing man
June 24th, 2020
Meditation of the Day by Pontiff Samuel
(Draft)
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Dear brothers, dear sisters, great is the joy in our hearts today in celebrating and in living the solemn Feast of the Birth of John the Baptist, the Forerunner, He who was sent into the world by the Father to prepare for the coming of the Messiah, to prepare all hearts to welcome the Light who was coming into the world: Christ the Light, the Light of all peoples.
In the New Jerusalem we honour John the Baptist to the fullness and on this day we ask God the Father Almighty to give us the Spirit of John, a Spirit that proceeds in history; a spirit that drove the prophet Elijah, the defender of the true God, He who was not afraid to confront the false priests, one after the other.
Here is the Spirit of John. Here is our plea to the Father, today: please send us His Spirit, so that His Spirit may enter our hearts and give us strength and courage; that courage that led John to witness the Truth without fear, announcing to everyone that the Lamb of God has come down into the world; that the Word of God has once again become flesh and has come to abide with His sons again.
In the same way as John bore witness to the Light, so we want now to bear witness to the Mystery of the Child Jesus, the Light sent by the Father into the world once again to pierce the darkness and the gloom that have once again enveloped many nations and have once again enveloped and are reigning in so many hearts that have lost the Way, that no longer want to listen to the Truth and that consequently will not be able to embrace eternal Life.
But, now as then, those who have welcomed Christ the Light, those who have acknowledged Him just as John acknowledged the presence of the Holy Spirit who descended upon Jesus at the River Jordan, today exult with joy, today live the Feast, today experience the living, continuous and throbbing Mass. That Mass that brings all God’s sons to join every day to the renewal of the Sacrifice of the Son of God, to the renewal of the Sacrifice of the Lamb who daily sacrifices Himself for love of His sons, to give them Joy, Peace, Love and Sincerity, so to live Christ the Way, the Truth and Life.
Honour to You, John, holy and God-fearing man.
Honour to You, John, for having left all behind: home, relatives, friends and comforts in order to serve God, that God who visited You and made You shudder with joy when still in Your mother’s womb, that God whom You served unstintingly, giving Your life to Him, every moment of Your life without hesitation, without ever doubting and without ever recriminating.
Honour to You, John: You didn’t hesitate to indicate the Lamb of God to Your disciples; You kept nothing for Yourself but lowered Yourself so that He might grow in every son entrusted to You by the Father, in every son who, by listening to Your voice, has followed Him. Just as was done at that time by the Apostles Andrew and the other John, the Evangelist, the Apostle of Love, who loved You so much, who wrote so much and spoke to us of You with infinite love.
O John, O Forerunner, You who opened the hearts of many to pave the way for Your Lord, help now, by Your Spirit, all those who sincerely wish to proclaim the Truth to everyone: the Mystery of the Child God who has come down here from Above not only to reign in all hearts, but above all to be King of a great people and to lead all to Salvation, in Christ and Mary. And so be it.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.