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Zechariah

“And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak, until the day on which these things shall be, because you have not believed my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.” (Lk 1:20) Before God called St. John the Baptist to preach, He called Zechariah and Elizabeth to be the parents of this holy man, entrusting them to teach and prepare their child for a great mission. In the Gospel of Luke we are introduced to Zechariah as the one who has been chosen to be the High Priest that goes into the Holy of Holies in the Temple to offer incense at the mercy seat and to bless the people in the name of the Lord, a name that is so holy that only the High Priest utters it and only during this blessing. Zechariah is a good man who obeys all the Jewish laws and, as a priest, serves God, but he has been too busy doing the temple activities instead of preparing his heart.  It is in the place of the Holy of Holies that the angel Gabriel appears to him and announces that God has heard his prayers. At the mercy seat Zechariah finds out that he will have a son who will have a role in helping Israel obtain the mercy they seek. Gabriel tells Zechariah God’s plan, but Zechariah does not believe it because he does not trust God completely. This passage comes right before Gabriel visits the Blessed Virgin Mary and She welcomes God’s plan for her life even though it means changing Her plans. While these two responses are contrasted, Scripture invites us to go deeper. Zechariah is a good man who is not ready for his mission, but does God abandon him and choose someone else? No. “The plan of The Lord stands forever; the design of His heart through all generations.” (Ps 33:11) God never changes His mind.  He instead chooses to work with Zechariah and prepare him for his mission.  He calls Zechariah into the silence where He can speak to his heart. He has months with Zechariah to teach him all he needs to know. He even sends His beloved daughter Mary, and His incarnate Son to Zechariah’s home to draw Zechariah deeper into relationship with Him. When John is born, Zechariah is prepared. He is filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesies: “And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death,to guide our feet into the path of peace.” (Lk 1:76-79) Zechariah teaches his son to seek the silence and trust in The Lord and, as a result, St. John the…

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Read more about the article The Lord Bless And Keep You

The Lord Bless And Keep You

The LORD bless you and keep you! The LORD let His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you! The LORD look upon you kindly and give you peace! (Nm 6: 24-26) This was from the first reading for the first day of the new year, the feast of Mary Mother of God.  What a beautiful way to begin the new year, with the reminder that our loving God cares for us.  A blessing is an invitation to us from God and invitation requires a response. And how do we respond to this call? “The Lord look upon you kindly and give you peace.” How do we obtain this peace?  The first thing that comes to mind is making a good confession and starting the year renewed.  What are my faults? What have I done wrong? What good did I fail to do?  Then I ask forgiveness and accept the mercy God offers.  Yes I know some people may say, “I don’t have any sins to confess;” my response is simply, “oh, please tell me how you learned to walk on water because I haven’t managed it yet.”  The second thing that comes to mind is how do we live in peace with each other?  The fastest way to patience with and forgiveness of others is to pray for them.  When things seem especially difficult, a novena to Our Lady Undoer of Knots has never been known to fail. “The Lord let His face shine upon you.” This reminds us to notice all the beauty created for us.  God communicates to each of us through the natural world – the softness of the gentle breeze, the brilliance of the orange and gold painted sky, the stillness of the forest, the roar of the ocean, the music of a child’s laugh, and the kindness of a stranger.  God’s love surrounds us and sustains us and when we want to see His Face, He awaits us in Eucharistic Adoration speaking words of love that only our souls can hear. “The Lord bless you and keep you.”  God chose to keep His Son safe in the arms of His mother Mary.  Many non-Catholics have told me that Mary is a person like us in all things including sin, but where is that in scripture?  The greatest men of the Bible – Moses, David, Peter, and Paul have their sins as well as their successes told.  What do we know about the Blessed Virgin Mary? An angel greets Her with “Hail, full of grace.”  When Mary receives the message of the angel, she does not doubt as Zachariah did.  She does not try to use human intelligence to interpret the meaning as Abraham did (Abraham slept with his wife’s maid to try to fulfill the prophesy).  She inquires of the angel, Gabriel, exactly what She is supposed to do to cooperate in God’s plan.  She asks if God wants Her to give up Her vow of virginity and is willing to do whatever…

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Baptism in the Jordan

When we think of John the Baptist, we tend to picture a “fire and brimstone” preacher telling people to repent.  But the Baptism in the Jordan leads us in a better direction to reveal who John the Baptist was.  John was present when the Blessed Virgin Mary visited his mother Elizabeth.  He recognized his savior and leapt for joy in his mother’s womb.  From this moment we know that John was special. Luke 1:15 says “he will be filled with the Holy Spirit in his mother’s womb.”  The Holy Spirit filled John with sanctifying grace and he responded to this grace throughout his life. John spent years fasting and praying.  Fasting magnifies our spiritual life and deepens our relationship with God far beyond what prayer alone can do.  Fasting allows us to see the things of God more clearly and be more open to the direction of the Holy Spirit.  So when John preached to the people, there was no doubt he was responding to the Holy Spirit.  And how does a preacher convince people to repent?  By being a force so full of love that people respond to him and his message.  He speaks in truth, yes, but also in love and mercy, drawing people in and inviting them into a deeper relationship with God.  In order to do this, John radiated peace, love, and joy.  He also radiated humility, “I am not worthy to untie the strap of his shoe.”  The people came to him in droves and confessed their sins.  As Catholics, we often choose to go to priests who connect with us, respond with love and understanding, and give us spiritual guidance. The people of John’s time were the same.  They came in droves because he did not condemn, but offered them love, hope, and mercy.  St. John the Baptist was able to offer these gifts because he was a man of humility, the most misunderstood of the virtues. Humility is not putting ourselves down or wallowing in feelings of worthlessness.  On the contrary, humility is the grace to understand who God is as Creator, to know who we are as His creatures, and to see our neighbors as beloved souls created in the image and likeness of God.  In true humility we grow to love God more and seek a deeper relationship with Him.  Just as fasting magnifies our prayers, it also enables us to grow in humility, and as a result, experience the fruits of the Holy Spirit.  Because of John’s great humility, the Holy Spirit revealed the Messiah to him and he proclaimed for our benefit: “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” (Jn 1:29).  He knew what most of Israel did not; he knew the Messiah would restore the people to the intimate relationship with God they had lost through Adam’s sin. John’s call was a call to love, a call to willingly transform their hearts so that God could make His home there. The words…

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