The Detachment of St. John the Baptist
Summary of Headings
The Example of St. John the Baptist
The Advent, the Church places before our eyes the example of St. John the Baptist, truly a figure that we should hold close in our devotions and our love. Someone who is the example for us of what detachment looks like, the personification of detachment. Someone who went out into the desert very early in life, lived a life of abnegation in the way that he lived. But then when the Word of God came to him, he said, The Word of God descended upon him. He came back from the desert into the valley of the Jordan, and he preached a baptism of penitence and of water. But then when he saw our Lord, he stepped back. And he accepted his role instead as being the one who is a precursor, someone who is guiding everybody to somebody else. As he directed his disciples to follow our Lord Jesus Christ. And when he preached, he preached without fear. Even when he was preaching against Herod, condemning him for his adulterous relationship. And when Herod had him imprisoned, he gave up his last disciples and sent them to our Lord. With these questions, but also not for his sake, he knew that our Lord was the one who was preached of. But rather, he sent them so that the disciples could follow our Lord. So he sacrificed them from himself. Dying alone, surrounded by his enemies and those who hated him. Dying surrounded by, while having lived a life of penitence, those who were servants and slaves of their own desires and corruptions. In the palaces of Herod. He is a figure of total detachment, because whatever it is that God asked him to do, he performed it and he never asked questions of it. He's a lesson, this is a lesson we all must learn from him. Because it's not just the penitence. Even in the modern church, there's still the custom and practice in many places of encouraging children and others during the time of Advent to give up something. But the question that is not asked, and even unfortunately among us, not nearly enough asked, why? Why should I give up sweets for Advent? Why should I read pious books during Advent? Why should I do these little things that deny our Lord? Why should we give ourselves during this time? Well, of course, we know the answer is to prepare for the coming of Christ. But how? How does that prepare us for the coming of Christ? By detachment. It detaches us from connection to these things. Because these things can have an unhealthy hold on our souls, on our desires, on our wills. God created us for himself. We belong to him. Every part of our life is supposed to be his. Unfortunately, original sin has corrupted that and changed that course. We are now blind. We are now weak. We do not see God the same way that we were supposed to under Adam and Eve. And so therefore, our response is to search for him, to grab a hold of anything that reminds us of him, specifically good. Anything good. Because that is what reveals God to us in some way. The problem is, we are disordered. And so it's very easy for us to slip into that disorder in searching out the good. And therefore, what we are searching out is not God, effectively, but ourselves and our desires. And that is where the danger lies. Because now, all of a sudden, instead of being creatures dedicated entirely to God, we are quickly, easily, and habitually dedicated to our own service. Our own service. Self -service. So even when we try to serve God, oftentimes there is something of ourselves behind it. Because we are still attached to ourselves. The detachment of John the Baptist that we must study and examine is the detachment from self. We want so badly to be able to stand out, to shine, to find our way to whatever it may be. But that's because it's all about, us. We want to be happy and content, and we want to have all things. That's because we're worried about us. And we desire something for us. And that is not the goal that we should be striving for, even slightly. We belong to God. He has given us everything. Our capacity to think, our capacity to choose, our freedom of will. Our faculties, our strengths, our abilities. He has given us all of these things. But he has given them to us so that we may serve him. And yes, of course, we can find happiness in doing so. Of course, we can enjoy things while doing so. Of course, we can embrace so many things as a result of that. Of course, there are many good things that we can have. And of course, we may have to suffer. And we may have to deny ourselves. And we may have to lose things. But all of it should be in the service of God. One of the beautiful things about St. John the Baptist is that there is not a single word that he said or action that he performed that we know of that was not all about his perfect and absolute detached service to God. That is an example we must follow. That is what we are supposed to prepare for and how we are supposed to prepare ourselves for the coming of our Lord at Christmas. By detaching ourselves, not of all the material things, though that's a means of being able to achieve the true detachment we're supposed to be pursuing, which is the detachment from ourselves. Not my will be done. Thy will be done. Not my way of doing things, but his. Not what I choose to do, but what he wants me to do. He now must become the standard by which we measure everything. Every word, every thought, and every action. He must become all for us. The only way to do that is to understand exactly why we are here. We are here to know, love, and serve God in this world so that we can be eternally happy with him in heaven. It goes back to the very first questions of the catechism. That is why God made us. That is why we are here. And the only way we're going to be able to accomplish that is through that detachment. We want so much out of this life, and even some very good things. We should never believe for an instant that we're all totally perverse and insidious in everything, in every aspect of our lives. We may want a closer relationship with God, but many times we want it on our terms, in our way. And that is not detachment. Quite the contrary. Many times we want to be holier, but we are the ones who dictate how that's going to happen. We want to be able to sacrifice something, or to offer something. And so, we try, but unfortunately again, it's not in service to God, it's in service to us. Our own vanity, our own intelligence, our own will, our own pleasure, our own whatever. Because we are too busy trying to do this on our own, and not listening to God guiding us how we are supposed to accomplish this goal. We want to be holy. Only God can give us holiness. We want to be saved. Only God can save us. We want to be happy. Only God will make us happy. So therefore, how do we accomplish this detachment? Well, St. Paul gives us two specific directions. The first one is one of the fruits of the Holy Ghost. He refers to it several times when he's giving the many quotes about the Gentiles being a part of the plan of salvation. And the word that is repeated over and over is joy, rejoice. So the first step is joy. One attribute of the Catholic Church, and every Catholic should be true joy. Now again, true joy. We're not talking about just simply pasting a face on our smiles and imagining that we're happy, and trying to always be goofy about it. We are trying to be truly joyful. Where does joy come from? Joy is the second fruit of the Holy Ghost. Right after charity. Joy comes from the fact that we truly are possessed of the Holy Ghost and possessed of God. That He is the one who is guiding us. He is the one who is guiding us. He is the one who is dictating terms to us. And He is the one who is moving us how we are supposed to be moved. He is the source of everything that we do and think and say. That is how we find true joy. By letting go of our will and letting the Holy Ghost reign. That is how we find joy. And that needs to be the characteristic that defines each and every one of us all the time. Regardless of how much we suffer. Or regardless of what it is we have to go through. Or regardless of what our neighbors are doing or whatever else. That mark of joy needs to be a part of our essence. Because it is a true mark of the presence of the Holy Ghost. Which we are able to enjoy. One of the ways that we achieve this joy, St. Paul also brings it up, among ourselves, is unity. Unity. Unity is extraordinarily important. We belong to the one Holy Ghost. We belong to the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. Now unity can only come from God. Division will always be the tool of the devil. Always. And the more we try to push division between ourselves and anybody else. Within this community or without. Without. This is proof that we are not working for the same team. God will unify. He will unify everybody under His voice. The truth. Holiness. His essence. Because He is God. And all who will truly follow Him. Will be one with Him. What is the difference between a saint and a good man? A good man is virtuous. And he practices virtue. He can even practice a lot of virtue. But holiness is perfect union with God. It's unity in God. That we lose ourselves in Him. And that is the goal. It's not just to be good. It's to be a saint. And that is what we must strive for. That unity. Where does it come from? How can all of us. Being so very different in so many ways. How can we be one? How can we be one. Despite many differences. And accidental features. Origin. Economic status. Education. Position in the world. Whatever else. Personal philosophy of life. Whatever else. All those things. How can we be united. Despite all of those little differences. Starts right here at Mass. This is the first place we look for unity. The holy sacrifice of the Mass. Because here's one of the issues that we find. The Mass does not belong to us. It is not ours. It is His. The prayers we say during the Mass are not ours. They are His prayers. Even the priest who is saying the prayers. All he is. Is the voice box of Christ. Nothing else. The words are His. And He is working in persona Christi. In the person of Christ Himself. And the work. And the movements. And the words are all Christ's. The priest is just the instrument. Nothing else. Nothing else. But each and every one of us. Has the opportunity. In the different degrees that we have. Me as a priest. You as faithful. To unite ourselves. Through our will. To the same sacrifice. Of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are able to actually be. A part of that same sacrifice. The sacrifice that gives grace. The sacrifice that illuminates the truth to us. The sacrifice that guides. And strengthens and protects. As we go through life. All of these things. Is offered by the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. And so therefore. We are actually able to be a part of it. We are able to sacrifice ourselves. In union with our Lord Jesus Christ. And actually be a part of the same sacrifice. And therefore. We find true unity in God. So one of the most important ways. That we can start practicing this unity. That I mentioned earlier. Is simply. How we attend Mass. If we come to Mass. With the intention of. I'm going to say these prayers. And I'm going to. Whatever. I'm going to practice my devotions. During my Mass. That is not how this works. And therefore. You will get all the fruit. Of your own devotion. Which may be good. But that is not. Anything compared. To the. Eternal blessings. And the infinite. Graces that are offered to us. Through the holy sacrifice of the Mass. And through being one. With the infinite himself. God. We come here. Not. For our Mass. But to lose ourselves. In his. We come not for. Our devotions. But to sacrifice ourselves. With him. We come not for. The excellent. Community. But to commune. With him. That is where unity starts. Losing ourselves. In the Mass. Not trying to claim it. As our own. Not staking a claim. But disappearing. Into the Mass. Letting God do the work. And ourselves. Putting ourselves on the altar. And disappearing. That is how we practice that first unity. How do we express that? What is one little way that we can express that? If I might make a recommendation. Low Masses. You get to say the Leonine prayers. After Mass. Instead of everybody going their own rhythm. At their own volume. Maybe listen a little bit more. More unity in the way that we pray. Will actually help a lot. High Masses. When everybody sings the Kyrie. That is a wonderful thing. I want everybody to sing the Kyrie. But maybe a little more unity. In the way that that is performed. It is a small thing. It is a small tiny thing. But it expresses. Something of the desire. To unify ourselves. To God's prayer. As opposed to trying to. Rest control from everybody around us. And be the ones. Who forge ahead. And force everybody else to follow along. Those little things. Conform to the rules of the church. When you come in. Make sure you genuflect. Before taking your seat. Make sure you dress appropriately. All these little things. They are details. They are not part of the essence. Of what the Mass is. But they are very important. In our sense of unity. To the sacrifice of our Lord. Jesus Christ. And that is the labor. That we must perform. Regardless of everything else. That is how we will find true joy. The only way. That we can be truly free. Is to enslave in ourselves to God. It is the only way. We can find true happiness. Is to lose ourselves. The only way we can do that. Is through true detachment of ourselves. So while we are preparing. For Christmas. And the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Let's turn to St. John the Baptist. And ask him about what it is. To be totally and perfectly faithful. To the word of God. No matter what it means for us. No matter what we have to give up. No matter what it is that we may want. That we just give ourselves entirely. To the service of God. And let him work within us. And let him unify us. As one cohesive. Joyful unit. So that we can be. Eternally happy. Eternally united. With him forever in heaven. In the name of the Father. And the Son. And the Holy Ghost. Amen.
Summary
The Advent, the Church places before our eyes the example of St. John the Baptist, truly a figure that we should hold close in our devotions and our love. Someone who is the example for us of what detachment looks like, the personification of detachment. Someone who went out into the desert very early in life, lived a life of abnegation in the way that he lived. He is a figure of total detachment, because whatever it is that God asked him to do, he performed it and he never asked questions of it. He's a lesson, this is a lesson we all must learn from him. Because it's not just the penitence. Even in the modern church, there's still the custom and practice in many places of encouraging children and others during the time of Advent to give up something. One attribute of the Catholic Church, and every Catholic should be true joy. Now again, true joy. We're not talking about just simply pasting a face on our smiles and imagining that we're happy, and trying to always be goofy about it. We are trying to be truly joyful. Where does joy come from? Joy is the second fruit of the Holy Ghost. Right after charity.