Sunday, June 24, 2012

Devotion for today: The Feast of the Nativity of St. John the Baptists

Why Do We Celebrate the Birth of John the Baptist?

The nativity of Saint John the Baptist is a sacred reminder of the fact that I need born in my life every day:

·         Someone who leaps with joy before the presence of the Lord making me want to live my own relationship with Jesus with greater ardor and fervor

·         Someone to prepare the way of the Lord and to give me knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of my sins

·         Someone who turns my attention away from my distractions and preconceptions so that I will behold the Lamb of God as the true desire of my heart

·         Someone who models for me that there is no greater joy in my life than for Jesus to increase and for me to decrease, especially as regards my self-reliance, my self- assertion, my self-importance

·         Someone who is a burning and shining lamp whose radiance gives light to my path and courage to my heart, making me want to live for others

·         Someone so committed to the truth that he is willing to lay down his life for the Truth-become-flesh, witnessing to me that all true happiness comes through self-sacrifice

·         Someone whose sanctity proclaims that there is no man born of woman greater than he is but that I can share his greatness if I love Jesus as he did.

·         In the tender compassion of our God, the Dawn from on high has broken upon us through the birth of John the Baptist.

(Father Peter John Cameron, O.P. Magnificat, June, 2012, P.O. Box 822, Yonkers, NY, 10702 or www.magnificat.com to subscribe)

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