Faithful Witness: Understanding the Mission of St. John the Baptist
The Inquiry of the Pharisees
We look at this gospel. It's rather interesting, isn't it? The Pharisees sent this little entourage to figure out who this man is. Who are you? Are you the Christ? No, I am not. Are you Elias? No. Who are you? Are you Jeremiah? No. Are you a prophet? No. Who are you? And who says I am the voice crying in the wilderness? Prepare the way of the Lord. That's who I am. Nothing more, nothing less. And the Pharisees, of course, they don't let down. Well, ask him why he's baptizing. And of course, he says, I am not worthy to even, um, loosen the straps of his sandals. That's how serious Saint John is and how much he knows who he actually is. He is not the Christ. He is the last prophet.
The Sacramental Understanding
And we know very well that even though Saint John is one of the greats of all time, this calling out to our Lord and taking advantage of the fact that he is the last prophet is what He does. Even when our lady and our Lord come to Him and his mother at the visitation. It's beautiful. But of course. Who art thou? There's a good question we're asking. You see, Saint John also never waffled in who he was. He baptized with water. He did not commit a sacrament. Why? Because he's not a priest. It was not a sacramental baptism. I don't care what the other religions believe. It was not a sacramental baptism. If it was a sacramental baptism, he would have been a priest of the New Order, which he was not the priest of the New Order, as you know very well. Was Peter and the 11? They were the priests of the New Order. They did not start baptizing as a sacrament until after Pentecost. Right. That's in ex chapter two, by the way.
St. John's Unwavering Identity
Now, he never, ever quit, though, who he was. Think about this for one moment, okay? When Herod was full of booze and foolishness, like he, I'm sure was a lot. He had his head wife number to go to the stepdaughter, who apparently was not the best of women and. He was drunk and stupid and being foolish and said, Whatever you want, darling, ever you want, I'll give you whatever you want. And she said, What do I ask for, Mommy? And Mommy said, I want his head on a silver platter. The head of John the Baptist. And of course, because Herod was a drunk, horrible, miserable creature, he succumbed and agreed.
The Quiet Martyrdom of John
The funny thing about that is that when Herod had Saint John martyred, the martyrdom was not some glorious martyrdom that happened where it was in the middle of the Colosseum in Rome, and there was 100,000 people with lions and tigers and people throwing food at Saint John. It was done in the prison because, again, John was never he did not intend to ever be in the forefront. He knew I must receive so he may proceed, which he did. But Saint John stayed true to who he was. He was a member of a very elite group, as you know, and he never denied his vow.
The Call to Authentic Christian Identity
And you wonder what it must have been like for people to actually see Saint John. Here's Saint John on the middle of the in the middle of the boonies baptizing. And as you pray, remember, he did not wear beautiful clothing. He wore rags. He wore a leather belt. He ate honey and locusts. He was a very simple man, but he knew what he was. He knew what his responsibility was. He knew what our Lord, his cousin, expected of him. And he never stopped being what he actually was. But the question we have to ask ourselves, my dears, and I want you to think about this, too, is. Are we? Actually acting like we should. That's a good question. It's worth asking, isn't it? I want you to think about that for one minute. Okay.
Living as a True Catholic
You know, people say, who are you? A lot of people will say, I'm a Christian. Now, what does that mean? And they give you a dissertation about what that means. You go, okay, okay, great. If somebody asked, What of us? Who are you? How would we answer? You know, I remember when I was in my early years of priesthood, there was a neighbor girl who my parents knew her family, and she was probably about that 15 year age bracket somewhere in there. And my mother asked her. So what do you have going on this year? I have a cheer squad. Ballet squad. That that that that that directed at to the activity. Activity. Activity. Oh, this it isn't this the same? You're supposed to be confirmed. Oh yeah. That to. What? That too. Isn't that the most important thing happening in your life this year? You're going to become a soldier of Christ. Apparently not.
The Priority of Our Catholic Identity
The sad part is, that's the way a lot of Catholics act, isn't it? Everything for them is I'm a this, I'm a this, some of this. And oh, by the way, I'm also a Catholic. That's really disturbing. The first thing we should say, when somebody asks you who are what are you, Catholic husband, Catholic wife, Catholic young person. I'm a Catholic. That's the first thing I am. And I'm one of the lucky ones. Well, lucky is the wrong word. I'm one of the fortunate ones because I am allowed to live my life in order with the way God expects me to worship. That's something worth thinking about right there, isn't it? The other religions which. The time. You know my ideas.
Courage to Speak the Truth
We have to remember that there are going to be occasions when people will ask us, as the Pharisees send the priest, the Levites, to Saint John, who are you? Could you imagine if Saint John would have said, you know, I'm I am the Messiah? Look at me. He didn't do that. He didn't make himself out to be something he was not. A lot of Catholic men have to remember what they are, who they are. And have the courage to speak that to their fellow man. It's also important that we remember that you might have friends and family who are really good people, who are really lost and confused.
Addressing and Correcting Sin
And you have to ask the question to yourself, What do I intend to do? What am I going to do? Am I going to be that person who just kind of cowers in the corner and says nothing? Or Am I going to be the person who has the courage to speak the truth? For I am a Catholic, of course. The problem with that also is for a lot of people, they have to understand what that means. Being a Catholic is more than just attending mass twice a year. And you know as well as I do a lot of our Catholic brethren, that's about the extent of their worship. They love the Christmas service and the one with the bunny. Which is pathetically sad. They don't go to Mass every Sunday.
Emphasis on Regular Worship
They don't observe the sacrament of penance, ever. And if they do, it's because well, you know, my third cousin twice removed is getting married. And I kind of want her to see the Eucharist today. And I know that that priest up there is a real jerk and he's going to make that statement. And I don't want to, you know, do a bad communion because even though I haven't received in like a year and haven't been to confession in five years, I'll go to confession anyway.
Announcing the Faith
Opposed to actually making it a regular part of your spiritual life, which we should be doing religiously. It's also important that we remember something else, my ears, when it comes to the Catholic faith. We have to be those that actually. If you will, announce the faith to our friends, to our family. What do you mean by that? Father Perrone, I mean very clearly, if somebody says, where do you go to mass? You don't crawl into a corner and say, I ain't going anywhere. I go, No, where do you go? I go to a special church or, you know, go special is trad church. What? What is that?
Inviting Others to Faith
What is that? Where do you go? To Mass. I go to Our Lady of Victory. Would you like to join me? We have four masses on Sunday. You know what? Let's work out with your schedule. You. I'll come and get you and the wife and kids. And we'll go to my parish on Sunday. Why is it so difficult? Well, if somebody says no, that's on them. It's not on you. But you had the courage, didn't you? Or to speak to your fellow man when they say so. You're a Catholic and you say and you're living in sin. What are you doing, man? Ooh. You want to lose a bunch of a bunch of buddies? That's a good way to do it.
Embracing Your Catholic Identity
Call out your friends who are afraid to do what is right. Because they're having too much fun, too much sensuality and fun. Those are mortal sins and you know it as well as I do. But we have to be the ones who are courageous to say, Hey, what are you doing? What are you doing? Stop that. You claim to be a Catholic, but you're living in sin. You claim to be a Catholic, but you're doing these things. What is the matter with you? That's hard. You're right. It is hard. But are we Catholics or not? Or are we going to be those who get comfortable with letting the other religions rule the roost?
St. John's Courageous Testimony
Right. You see, the Pharisees, they're trying to, if you will, trap Saint John. So. So what are you what are you exactly? Are you. Are you a prophet? Are you the Messiah? What are you. You baptize? What's your deal, man? Ultimately, he makes it very clear who he is. I am this. This is who I am. I am nothing more, nothing less. I am the voice crying in the wilderness. Prepare the way of the Lord. That's who He was. That's what He did. The announcing of our Lord. Coming. And like I said, he lost his life because of it.
Faithful to God's Call
Now, could any of you ever imagine that Saint John would have been like, no, no, no. I can actually have a very good explanation in my own little mind that Saint John was like, So we're going to do it now. Okay. So by okay, because he knew he did what God asked him to do and he did it faithfully. He was faithful, okay? He was faithful to what he had to do. That should be us as well. You be faithful to what you have to do as a parent, as a son, as a daughter, as a single man, as a married man, as a single woman or a married woman.
Embracing Your Catholic Vocation
You do what God is asking you to do and you do it to the best of your ability faithfully. And you don't shy away from the fact that you are a Catholic. You are a Catholic. It's something worth thinking about. You know, my dears, today is Gaudete Sunday. We get to wear the pretty vestments today. Very beautiful. And we're preparing for something beautiful. A lot of people have lost sight of what Christmas actually is. What is Christmas? It's a beautiful time of the year.
Rediscovering the Meaning of Christmas
It's a wonderful time of the year. It's true. You know, it's funny how a lot of people have lost sight of the fact that Christmas Day is when the Christmas season begins, not September 3rd. An interesting, interesting, isn't it? So people will say to me, Merry Christmas and let's see. Well, I hope we're having a blessed event. They look at me like, what is the matter with this guy? Well, if you were a devout Catholic, you know what I mean? Because you're in preparation for our Lord's birthday. It's a glorious day.
The Importance of Preparation
You think about how much excitement goes into birthdays. I was just talking to one of our parishioners there. Their child is turning 18. They're so excited because, you know, 18 years old is when we begin our adulthood. Right. Very excited about what they're going to do for their daughter. And they're so excited and they should be, and rightfully so. Good Catholic family. But people give so much emphasis on preparing for events, don't they?
Celebrating the True Meaning of Christmas
Oh, my gosh, my. The birthday's coming for my two year old. We're going to get we're going to get a little pony and we're going get all the things. My two year old can't even figure out what this is. But nonetheless, it's going to look great for my friends and their kids. So again, if you want to do something that's for your children, make yourself out. That's fine. But this event that we're coming to celebrate is when our Lord came into the world through the womb, the blessed virgin of His Blessed Virgin Mother. It's a big deal. We were preparing ourselves for that glorious day, for that time of year, that time of joy. A time of excitement. A time of great anticipation. Because this is what this is for various offers, something glorious.
Concluding Thoughts on Advent and Christmas
Go day two for something glorious, something beautiful. So I hope you all have a very blessed remainder of your lent. Of your advent, excuse me. And that you use this to the fullest in preparation for the glorious, glorious birthday of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Word became flesh and walked among us.
Summary
This reflection delves into the importance of maintaining our Catholic identity and having the courage to speak and live out our faith, as exemplified by St. John the Baptist. St. John knew who he was and stood firm in his mission even in the face of adversity, a lesson that resonates for modern Catholics who are often challenged to shy away from their faith identity. In staying true to his calling without compromise, St. John teaches us the value of courage and faithfulness in our daily lives.
As Catholics, there’s a deep call to be visible and vocal about our faith, especially during important liturgical seasons such as Advent. This time of preparation for Christmas is not about commercial festivities but about welcoming Christ into the world and our lives. We are reminded to joyously anticipate His coming with faith and to let this joy penetrate not just how we celebrate but how we live our lives, as St. John the Baptist demonstrated through his life and mission.