JOHN THE BAPTIST
19 When they had rowed about three or
four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and
coming near the boat, and they began to be afraid 20 but he said to them, “It is I. Do not be afraid.”
After
rowing three or four miles they must have been exhausted and there must have
been no wind, for surely any sailor would have used the wind if it was blowing.
The conditions on the sea that night had to have been unnerving but there must
have been some light from the moon as they had seen our Lord nevertheless they
were afraid. Then He said, “It is I” or literally “I AM” which was the
name of God which no pious Jew could even say!
I
wonder if they were thinking of the words of the Torah, “The earth was formless and void,
and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving
over the surface of the waters.” (Genesis
4:2) When they had seen and heard Christ. They must have known at that
point that here was the messiah because they believed. Immediately they arrived
on shore and Christ spoke on the “Bread of Life” discourse stating” Whoever
eats my flesh and drinks my blood
has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day.” (John 6:54).
At
this saying all but these 12 walked away because they believed!
We
too are like the Apostles in that boat, the boat which we call the Holy
Catholic Church. Let us resolve like the Apostles to believe, follow the
precepts of our church and row three or four miles if we must.
John
the Baptist has the honor of being the only other person besides the Blessed
Virgin and our Lord whose birthday
the Church celebrates with a special feast. No doubt this has something to do
with the unique role that John plays in the economy of salvation. As the
"Precursor of the Lord" and the greatest of the prophets (Lk. 7.28),
John was given the commission of preparing the way for the Son of God. In the Confiteor
he is ranked higher than Saints Peter and Paul and is subordinate only to
the Blessed Virgin and St. Michael the Archangel. (Tradition holds that like
the prophet Jeremiah, John was consecrated in the womb to be free from all
mortal sin.) But there is also something special about his birthday itself:
John's conception in the womb of his aged mother Elizabeth was miraculous, as
was the Angel Gabriel's prophecy about his mission and name (Lk. 1.5-26,
41-80). Even the birthday's location in the year is profoundly significant:
because of the summer solstice, the days begin to grow shorter and shorter
after his birthday. The days after Christ's birthday, on the other hand, begin
to lengthen. Hence John's statement about Jesus, "He must increase, and I
must decrease" (Jn. 3.30), is echoed in the cycle of the cosmos. No wonder
that in speaking of John, the Archangel Gabriel declares, "many shall
rejoice in his birthday" (Lk. 1.14).
ST. JOHN the Baptist could not have had any greater
panegyrist than Jesus Christ Himself, who said: There hath not risen, among
them that are born of women [in the natural manner], a greater than John the
Baptist (Matt. xi. 11). The Lord made him great, even from his mother’s womb,
by causing his birth to before told by an angel, by giving him his name, and by
sanctifying him while yet in his mother’s womb through the presence of Christ.
To escape from the world and its allurements he withdrew to the desert, and
there occupied himself only with God and with what concerned his vocation. His
food was locusts and wild honey; his clothing a garment of camel s hair,
fastened by a leathern girdle; his bed the hard ground. Thus, he lived till his
thirtieth year, in which, by the command of God, he was to proclaim the coming
of the Messias, whom he himself afterwards baptized and pointed out to men as
the Lamb of God. With extraordinary zeal and earnestness, he preached the
necessity of true penance. For having reproved Herod for living in adultery he
was thrown into prison, and finally, at the instigation of Herodias, was
beheaded. We celebrate the day of his birth rather than that of his death, as
is the case of most saint’s days, because, while other saints arrive at
sanctity only through long and difficult contests, John was already sanctified
in his mother’s womb. (Goffine’s Devout Instructions)
Today
go out into the desert
and when you return; renew your baptismal
vows while taking a lap in the pool.
Take a Lap Day[2]
Take a lap! Around the pool that is, swim a Lap Day is a
day to get in the swimming pool. Swimming is a great way of getting exercise,
especially for those who have health problems that make traditional exercise
difficult due to weakness or difficulty moving. Swimming has been an activity
human have indulged in at least as far back as 7,000 years ago, a time from
which depictions of this activity can be seen in stone age paintings. People
have been engaging in swimming for all these years for many reasons, with
recreation being by far the most common among them. Swimming is, in fact,
ranked among the most popular forms of physical activity, even among otherwise
sedentary individuals. The buoyant nature of water makes it much easier on
those with physical limitations to get out and have a good time, and the act of
coursing through the water is often described as feeling a bit like flying! Swimming has also been shown to be
excellent for your health Those engaged in swimming tend to engage in the
activity for longer than other forms of exercise, and the act of swimming often
engages the entire body while moving through the water This also results in the
body drawing on large supplies of oxygen during almost all stages of the
activity Other benefits seen from this activity include a reduction in stress
related illnesses by reduction of the same, and it can even improve posture! Military
applications of swimming go back quite a long way, particularly in those
engagements requiring infiltration. Especially at night, it’s difficult to see
someone who is swimming underwater, and many cities and forts had
vulnerabilities at the areas where waste was washed out of the location.
Everyone loves pirates, and a common practice to taking a ship was to slip
through the water from a distance, so as not to reveal the presence of their
vessel. They’d then stealthily slip up the side of the target and take the ship
by surprise!
There are many health benefits to swimming, and it’s an
activity especially encouraged for those suffering from degenerative diseases,
and ones that impede mobility such as arthritis. It’s low impact nature allows
those whose movement would otherwise be restricted to engage in a full body
workout without causing further damage. Even those who are of advanced age can
find an ability to remain active in this sport! Due to it’s full body nature,
this sport is also excellent for building cardiovascular and respiratory
health, increasing how much oxygen the body can take advantage, as well as how
much blood the heart is able to move with each stroke.
·
Please
pray for me and this ministry
·
Please
Pray for Senator
McCain and our country; asking Our Lady of Beauraing to
intercede.
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