Mass During the Day
Memorial Bench for the Vigil of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist
Readings for the Solemnity of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist [1][2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Readings and Commentary:[3]
Reading 1: Isaiah 49:1-6
Hear me, O coastlands,
listen, O distant peoples.
The LORD called me from birth,
from my mother's womb he gave me my name.
He made of me a sharp-edged sword
and concealed me in the shadow of his arm.
He made me a polished arrow,
in his quiver he hid me.
You are my servant, he said to me,
Israel, through whom I show my glory.
Though I thought I had toiled in vain,
and for nothing, uselessly, spent my strength,
yet my reward is with the LORD,
my recompense is with my God.
For now the LORD has spoken
who formed me as his servant from the womb,
that Jacob may be brought back to him
and Israel gathered to him;
and I am made glorious in the sight of the LORD,
and my God is now my strength!
It is too little, he says, for you to be my servant,
to raise up the tribes of Jacob,
and restore the survivors of Israel;
I will make you a light to the nations,
that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Is 49:1-6
In this passage, the beginning of the second of the four “Servant of the Lord” oracles, the Prophet Isaiah speaks of his own call to service to God. Because this selection is used on the Solemnity of the Nativity of John the Baptist, we see in Isaiah’s words the calling to which John was beckoned.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 139:1b-3, 13-14ab, 14c-15
R. (14) I praise you, for I am wonderfully made.
O LORD, you have probed me, you know me:
you know when I sit and when I stand;
you understand my thoughts from afar.
My journeys and my rest you scrutinize,
with all my ways you are familiar.
R. I praise you for I am wonderfully made.
Truly you have formed my inmost being;
you knit me in my mother's womb.
I give you thanks that I am fearfully, wonderfully made;
wonderful are your works.
R. I praise you, for I am wonderfully made.
My soul also you knew full well;
nor was my frame unknown to you
When I was made in secret,
when I was fashioned in the depths of the earth.
R. I praise you, for I am wonderfully made.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 139:1b-3, 13-14ab, 14c-15
In support of the miracle of creation, Psalm 139 reminds us that like us St. John was formed and created in the womb as a gift from God to Elizabeth his mother. He came, known by God and God’s only Son.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reading II: Acts 13:22-26
In those days, Paul said:
"God raised up David as king;
of him God testified,
I have found David, son of Jesse, a man after my own heart;
he will carry out my every wish.
From this man's descendants God, according to his promise,
has brought to Israel a savior, Jesus.
John heralded his coming by proclaiming a baptism of repentance
to all the people of Israel;
and as John was completing his course, he would say,
'What do you suppose that I am? I am not he.
Behold, one is coming after me;
I am not worthy to unfasten the sandals of his feet.'
"My brothers, sons of the family of Abraham,
and those others among you who are God-fearing,
to us this word of salvation has been sent."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Acts 13:22-26
St. Paul, speaking to Jews who were being called to deeper faith in Christ, reminds them that the prophecy that the Messiah would come from the lineage of King David had been fulfilled. He speaks of St. John the Baptist as the herald of that event by recounting his (St. John’s) prophetic speech on the occasion of Jesus’ baptism by John in the Jordan.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gospel: Luke 1:57-66, 80
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.
The child grew and became strong in spirit,
and he was in the desert until the day
of his manifestation to Israel.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Luke 1:57-66, 80
We hear the angel’s announcement to Zachariah fulfilled in St. Luke’s account of the birth of St. John the Baptist. The naming of the child “John” broke tradition (according to the tradition of the day, the child should have been named after his father, Zachariah) and by acceding to the Archangel Gabriel’s announcement, we see the child set on a course directed by God and dedicated to him.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reflection:
The people who asked “What, then, will this child be?” were answered by his father, Zachariah, in his great canticle. He sings to his infant son with a voice just recovered;
“You, my child, will be called prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give his people knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins. In the tender compassion of our God, the dawn from on high shall break upon us, to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
St. John was born to be the Voice, the herald of the Word that was to follow him. He was clearly beloved by Jesus, his earthly cousin, who came to him as he baptized by the Jordan to initiate his public ministry. His presence fulfilled scripture in a way that brought certainty to the identity of Jesus as the Messiah. Even before his birth he knew the Lord and leapt with joy at their meeting.
Today we celebrate the entry of the Voice into the world; the great herald of Jesus as both invitation to worship God and an example of what an evangelist can be. The invitation he issues is made clear during our Lenten journey where we hear much more about St. John’s life and ministry. On this solemn feast we reflect upon the wondrous design of God predicted by the Prophets. The birth of the Voice, selecting him like the great prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah, before the left the womb, is another sign of God’s power and wisdom. Even then, before the coming of Rome or Herod to that part of the world, God saw that Jesus would need one to prepare his way.
We now take up that task. We thank God for sending the Voice and the Word that his great mercy and love might be known to us. We see in St. John the voice that we should be; by word and action preparing a way of the Lord so that the light might break upon the world.
Pax
[1] ALTRE
[2] The picture is “The Holy Family with St Elizabeth and the Infant St John the Baptist” by Bartolomeo Passerotti, c. 1572
[3] Text of Readings is taken from the New American Bible, Copyright © Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Excerpts from the English translation of The Roman Missal © 1973, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved.
Memorial Bench for the Vigil of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist
Readings for the Solemnity of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist [1][2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Readings and Commentary:[3]
Reading 1: Isaiah 49:1-6
Hear me, O coastlands,
listen, O distant peoples.
The LORD called me from birth,
from my mother's womb he gave me my name.
He made of me a sharp-edged sword
and concealed me in the shadow of his arm.
He made me a polished arrow,
in his quiver he hid me.
You are my servant, he said to me,
Israel, through whom I show my glory.
Though I thought I had toiled in vain,
and for nothing, uselessly, spent my strength,
yet my reward is with the LORD,
my recompense is with my God.
For now the LORD has spoken
who formed me as his servant from the womb,
that Jacob may be brought back to him
and Israel gathered to him;
and I am made glorious in the sight of the LORD,
and my God is now my strength!
It is too little, he says, for you to be my servant,
to raise up the tribes of Jacob,
and restore the survivors of Israel;
I will make you a light to the nations,
that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Is 49:1-6
In this passage, the beginning of the second of the four “Servant of the Lord” oracles, the Prophet Isaiah speaks of his own call to service to God. Because this selection is used on the Solemnity of the Nativity of John the Baptist, we see in Isaiah’s words the calling to which John was beckoned.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 139:1b-3, 13-14ab, 14c-15
R. (14) I praise you, for I am wonderfully made.
O LORD, you have probed me, you know me:
you know when I sit and when I stand;
you understand my thoughts from afar.
My journeys and my rest you scrutinize,
with all my ways you are familiar.
R. I praise you for I am wonderfully made.
Truly you have formed my inmost being;
you knit me in my mother's womb.
I give you thanks that I am fearfully, wonderfully made;
wonderful are your works.
R. I praise you, for I am wonderfully made.
My soul also you knew full well;
nor was my frame unknown to you
When I was made in secret,
when I was fashioned in the depths of the earth.
R. I praise you, for I am wonderfully made.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 139:1b-3, 13-14ab, 14c-15
In support of the miracle of creation, Psalm 139 reminds us that like us St. John was formed and created in the womb as a gift from God to Elizabeth his mother. He came, known by God and God’s only Son.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reading II: Acts 13:22-26
In those days, Paul said:
"God raised up David as king;
of him God testified,
I have found David, son of Jesse, a man after my own heart;
he will carry out my every wish.
From this man's descendants God, according to his promise,
has brought to Israel a savior, Jesus.
John heralded his coming by proclaiming a baptism of repentance
to all the people of Israel;
and as John was completing his course, he would say,
'What do you suppose that I am? I am not he.
Behold, one is coming after me;
I am not worthy to unfasten the sandals of his feet.'
"My brothers, sons of the family of Abraham,
and those others among you who are God-fearing,
to us this word of salvation has been sent."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Acts 13:22-26
St. Paul, speaking to Jews who were being called to deeper faith in Christ, reminds them that the prophecy that the Messiah would come from the lineage of King David had been fulfilled. He speaks of St. John the Baptist as the herald of that event by recounting his (St. John’s) prophetic speech on the occasion of Jesus’ baptism by John in the Jordan.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gospel: Luke 1:57-66, 80
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.
The child grew and became strong in spirit,
and he was in the desert until the day
of his manifestation to Israel.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Luke 1:57-66, 80
We hear the angel’s announcement to Zachariah fulfilled in St. Luke’s account of the birth of St. John the Baptist. The naming of the child “John” broke tradition (according to the tradition of the day, the child should have been named after his father, Zachariah) and by acceding to the Archangel Gabriel’s announcement, we see the child set on a course directed by God and dedicated to him.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reflection:
The people who asked “What, then, will this child be?” were answered by his father, Zachariah, in his great canticle. He sings to his infant son with a voice just recovered;
“You, my child, will be called prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give his people knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins. In the tender compassion of our God, the dawn from on high shall break upon us, to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
St. John was born to be the Voice, the herald of the Word that was to follow him. He was clearly beloved by Jesus, his earthly cousin, who came to him as he baptized by the Jordan to initiate his public ministry. His presence fulfilled scripture in a way that brought certainty to the identity of Jesus as the Messiah. Even before his birth he knew the Lord and leapt with joy at their meeting.
Today we celebrate the entry of the Voice into the world; the great herald of Jesus as both invitation to worship God and an example of what an evangelist can be. The invitation he issues is made clear during our Lenten journey where we hear much more about St. John’s life and ministry. On this solemn feast we reflect upon the wondrous design of God predicted by the Prophets. The birth of the Voice, selecting him like the great prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah, before the left the womb, is another sign of God’s power and wisdom. Even then, before the coming of Rome or Herod to that part of the world, God saw that Jesus would need one to prepare his way.
We now take up that task. We thank God for sending the Voice and the Word that his great mercy and love might be known to us. We see in St. John the voice that we should be; by word and action preparing a way of the Lord so that the light might break upon the world.
Pax
[1] ALTRE
[2] The picture is “The Holy Family with St Elizabeth and the Infant St John the Baptist” by Bartolomeo Passerotti, c. 1572
[3] Text of Readings is taken from the New American Bible, Copyright © Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Excerpts from the English translation of The Roman Missal © 1973, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved.
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