happy birthday and deathday
“She gave birth to a son.” —Luke 1:57
The birthday of St. John the Baptizer is halfway between Christmases. Are you ready for Christmas? Today Jesus may come back and the world may end. Are you ready for Jesus’ final coming? (see Mt 24:44) If Jesus decided to make this your dying day, would that be fine with you?
Many people, even Christians, are not ready for Christ’s comings at Christmas, at the end of the world, or at their deaths. They need John the Baptizer, for his mission is to prepare the way of the Lord (Mk 1:3). He does this by calling us to repentance (Acts 13:24; Mk 1:4). He also turns “the hearts of fathers to their children and the rebellious to the wisdom of the just, and to prepare for the Lord a people well-disposed” (Lk 1:17). In these ways, John prepares us for the Lord’s coming at any time or in any way.
On this birthday, get ready for your deathday, last day, and Christmas day. Respond to John’s prophetic message by repenting, forgiving, and changing your lifestyle.
Prayer: Father, I will confess my sins in the Sacrament of Reconciliation as soon as possible. St. John the Baptizer, pray for me.
Promise: “Though I thought I had toiled in vain, and for nothing, uselessly, spent my strength, yet my reward is with the Lord.” —Is 49:4
Praise: “I solemnly assure you, history has not known a man born of woman greater than John the Baptizer. Yet the least born into the kingdom of God is greater than he” (Mt 11:11). Father, thank You for adopting us into Your family.
Reference: (To make it a Christmas of a lifetime, read the Bible daily. For encouragement, listen to, download or order Ignorance of Scriptures is Ignorance of Christ on CD 82-1 or DVD 82, How to Pray the Bible on CD 82-3 or DVD 82 or How to Read the Bible on CD 46-3 or DVD 46 on our website.)
Rescript: "In accord with the Code of Canon Law, I hereby grant the Nihil Obstat for the publication One Bread, One Body covering the time period from June 1, 2022 through July 31, 2022. Reverend Steve J. Angi, Chancellor, Vicar General, Archdiocese of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio November 18, 2021"
The Nihil Obstat ("Permission to Publish") is a declaration that a book or pamphlet is considered to be free of doctrinal or moral error. It is not implied that those who have granted the Nihil Obstat agree with the contents, opinions, or statements expressed.