A Word from Your Pastor June 24 - Nativity of John the Baptist

The Birth of St. John the Baptist is one of the few celebrations of earthly birthdays in our Catholic Liturgical Calendar.  Most of the Saints’ feast days are on the day of their birth into Eternity, that is, the day of their death or martyrdom.  John the Baptist has one of those too – August 29, the feast commemorating his Beheading.  We also celebrate the Birth of Mary (September 8), the Birth of Jesus (December 25) and the Birth of the Church (Pentecost).

John, the son of the priest Zechariah and Elizabeth, who is related to Mary, is a figure who loomed large in the early Christian community.  Many of Jesus’ first disciples were followers of the Baptist.  It was John who declared that Jesus is the Lamb of God.  After John’s imprisonment, Jesus began His public ministry in earnest.  It was after John’s death that Jesus first began to announce that He would be crucified.

As we acknowledge John at the time of His birth, we are called to realize that we too must prepare the way of the Lord.  We have to be ready to identify Jesus for Who He IS and to give our lives as a witness of that truth. 

John the Baptist reminds us that God has a plan for the salvation of the world.  He shows us that Christ must increase, while we must decrease.  Our sights are to be set not on what we get, but rather on what God wants to offer the world through our participation in His plan.  This means that we must respond to the God’s call to evangelize.  We proclaim the Gospel near and far.

Next weekend, while I am away for a Mariapolis, the summer retreat weekend with the Focolare Movement, St. Timothy Parish will experience the annual mssion appeal that is part of the Mission Co-Op of the Diocese of Columbus.  The Missionaries of the Precious Blood have been assigned to us this year.  This community serves in the Diocese of Columbus as well as in missions throughout the world, taking care of St. James the Less Parish.   I am sure you will show Fr. Andrew O’Reilly a warm welcome and I invite you to be generous.  July is the month that celebrates the gift of the Blood of Christ, so it is fitting to start it off in support of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood.