Solemnity of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist

Today's Mass Readings

Today we celebrate the solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist. There is much that could be said about today's readings, but one point I want to bring out up front is that we too, like John the Baptist, have a calling from God. The first reading from the Book of Isaiah is, at a primary literal level, about the People of Israel whom God called in the Book of Genesis to a mission, even before they were born as a people. The People of Israel became a people after Jacob (later Israel) had children who then had their own children, and flourished in Egypt. But they became a great nation only after the exodus from Egypt and entrance into the Promised Land. Their call, however, was from before they ever entered Egypt; already with the patriarch Abram, the people's calling was made.

In today's solemnity, this passage is naturally applied to St. John the Baptist. But may be equally applied to each and every one of us. We each have a calling. At one level, this calling is our vocation, our path to holiness. For some, we might be called to the religious life or to marriage. Others may remain in a single state. But all of us are called to particular tasks by God. Perhaps are calling is to be teachers, perhaps something else.

Today, let us be attentive to the ways in which God is calling us. For those of us, especially the young, this may involve trying to discern a life-long vocation, a journey with God into the future. For all of us, however, it will involve trying to discover God's plan for our lives here and now. Let's pray that, like John the Baptist, God would make clear how He wants to use us, and that we would be used to help the kingdom grow.

Jeff Morrow