Vote for my birthdaypicture
Monday
in the Octave of Corpus Christi
JOHN THE BAPTIST-TAKE A
LAP-MIDSUMMER
Luke, Chapter 1, verse 10-12
10 Then, when the whole assembly of
the people was praying outside at the hour of the incense offering, 11 the angel of the
Lord appeared to him, standing at the right of the altar of incense. 12Zechariah was
troubled by what he saw, and fear came upon him.
Zechariah was troubled, and he was afraid. I do
not think this was Holy fear for
Zechariah’s faith did not equal his fear
and he was filled with unbelief. His intellect outweighed his heart and
as a result he was left unable to speak until the birth of his son as the angel
told him. That son was John the Baptist. There are times when we must
listen to our hearts and not our heads.
Nativity of St. Jobn tbe Baptist
ST.JOHN
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 be foretold 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 saints’ days, because, while other saints arrive at sanctity only through
long and difficult contests, John was already sanctified in his mother s womb.
The
Introit of the Mass is as follows: The Lord hath called me by my name, from the
womb of my mother, and hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of
His hand He hath protected me, and hath made me as a chosen arrow. It is good
to give praise to the Lord, and to sing to Thy name, O Most High.
Prayer. O God,
Who, by the birth of John, hast made this day worthy to be honored by us, grant
to Thy people the grace of spiritual joys, and guide the minds of all the
faithful in the way of eternal salvation.
EPISTLE.
Isaias xlix. 1-3, 5-7.
Give ear,
ye islands, and hearken, ye peoples from afar. The Lord hath called me from the
womb, from the bowels of my mother He hath been mindful of my name. And He hath
made my mouth like a sharp sword: in the shadow of His hand He hath protected
me, and hath made me as a chosen arrow: in his quiver He hath hidden me. And He
said to me: Thou art my servant Israel, for in thee will I glory. And now saith
the Lord, that formed me from the womb to be His servant, that I may bring back
Jacob unto Him, and Israel will not be gathered together: and I am glorified in
the eyes of the Lord, and my God is made my strength. And He said: It is a small
thing that thou shouldst be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to
convert the dregs of Israel. Behold I have given thee to be the light of the
gentiles, that thou mayest be My salvation even to the farthest part of the
earth. Thus saith the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, His holy One, to the soul
that is despised, to the nation that is abhorred, to the servant of rulers:
Kings shall see, and princes shall rise up and adore for the Lords sake,
because He is faithful, and for the holy One of Israel, Who hath chosen thee.
Explanation.
This prophecy refers, it is true, to Christ, Whom God has made the head,
teacher, ruler, and salvation of all nations. The greater part of it, however,
may be applied to St. John, as is evident from his life.
GOSPEL.
Luke i. 57-68.
Elizabeth s full time of being delivered was come,
and she brought forth a son. And her neighbors and kinsfolk heard that the Lord
had showed His great mercy towards her, and they congratulated with her. And it
came to pass that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they
called him by his father’s name, Zachary. And his mother answering, said: Not
so, but he shall be called John. And they said to her: There is none of thy
kindred that is called by this name. And they made signs to his father, how he
would have him called. And demanding a writing-table, he wrote, saying: John is
his name. And they all wondered. And immediately his mouth was opened, and his
tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God. And fear came upon all their
neighbors; and all these things were noised abroad over all the hill-country of
Judea. And all they that had heard them laid them up in their heart, saying:
What an one, think ye, shall this child be? For the hand of the Lord was with
him. And Zachary, his father, was filled with the Holy Ghost: and he
prophesied, saying: Blessed be the Lord God of Israel: because He hath visited
and wrought the redemption of His people.
Explanation.
The neighbors and kinsfolk of Elizabeth rejoiced with her at her
happiness, and gave her joy. We too, in like manner, should be glad when
anything good happens to our neighbor, and thank and praise God therefor.
Prayer. St. John, blessed forerunner of Jesus Christ, mirror
of true penance, burning and shining light, who by thy teaching and ex ample
didst show to men the way to Christ, I beseech thee, by thy penitential life,
that thou wouldst obtain for me, from Him Whom thou didst point out as the Lamb
of God that taketh away the sins of the world, grace that, fearing God s wrath
against the impenitent, I may at last do true penance for my sins, mortify my
sinful flesh according to thy example, serve God in purity and sanctity, and
finally, in the land of eternal happiness, follow forever the Lamb Who on the
altar of the cross was slain for me. Amen.
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).
A Great Leap in the Study of Music
We should also mention the breviary hymn
for the Feast of St. John the Baptist: Ut queant laxis. Tradition
ascribes the hymn to Paul the Deacon, who purportedly wrote it before having to
sing the difficult Exultet on Holy Saturday night. (Paul was suffering
from a hoarse throat and, remembering how Zechariah, the father of St. John,
was cured from a case of muteness, thought it best to direct his prayers to the
Baptist). What makes Ut queant laxis most famous, however, is that it is
the source of our musical scale, do, re, mi. An attentive medieval monk
noticed that the melody of the hymn ascended precisely one note of the diatonic
scale of C at each verse. Taking the first stanza, he decided to name the notes
after the first syllable of each verse:
UT
queant laxis REsonare fibris
MIra gestorum
FAmuli tuorum,
SOLve polluti LAbii reatum, SancTe Ioannes.
MIra gestorum
FAmuli tuorum,
SOLve polluti LAbii reatum, SancTe Ioannes.
With the exception of Ut, which was later
changed to Do for ease of pronunciation, these syllables became the
first six notes of our scale: Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol,
La. And this stanza also ended up providing the name of the seventh
note, Ti, which was later taken from the last syllable of the
penultimate word and the first syllable of the last word of the stanza:
"T" from Sancte and "I" from Ioannes. The
names for the notes to our basic Western musical octave therefore come from the
hymn for today's feast.
Things to Do:[2]
- Read about
the traditions connected
with this feast, particularly the connection with bonfires.
- The Liturgy
of the Hours for the Evening Prayer (Vespers) of the Birth of St. John the
Baptist has traditionally included the Gregorian chant Ut Queant Laxis.
See Catholic
Encyclopedia's entry Ut Queant Laxis, more
information on the hymn from Catholic
Culture,
a Beginner's
Guide to Modal Harmony, and Gregorian
Chant Notation.
- The Church
year has two cycles. The more important cycle is the Temporal Cycle
(from the Latin tempus which means time or season). The life of
Christ is relived in liturgical time, in both real time and Church's
memory. Throughout the year the Paschal Mystery (Christ's work of
redemption through His birth, life, passion, death, and resurrection and
ascension) is relived, and broken down into the seasons of Advent,
Christmas, Lent, Holy Week, Easter and Ordinary Time. Sundays are the
usual means by which this cycle unfolds.
At
the same time with the Temporal Cycle, the Sanctoral Cycle (from
the Latin sanctus which means saint) progresses. The Church honors Mary,
Mother of God "with a special love. She is inseparably linked with the
saving work of her son" (CCC 1172). Then the memorials of martyrs and
other saints are kept by the Church. They are held up to us as examples
"who draw all men to the Father through Christ, and through their merits
she begs for God's favors" (CCC 1173).
This
is one of the few saint feast days that is connected with the temporal
calendar, not the sanctoral calendar, because John the Baptist was intimately
involved in Christ's work of redemption. Charting or making your own liturgical
calendar would be a great family project.
- Read the
excerpt from the Directory on
Popular Piety on the cult of St. John the Baptist.
- In Brazil,
this day is known as Diário de Sáo Joáo (Saint John's Day). The
festivities are set off in the villages and countryside by the Fogueira
de Sáo Joáo (bonfire) on St. John's eve. Families and friends eat
traditional foods around the fire while younger folks jump over the fire
and firecrackers are exploded. The day is primarily a festival for
children, who save up months in advance to purchase fireworks to set off
for the day. In cities this is a day for parties and dances, with the
urban dwellers dressing up in rural costumes.
- St. John is
the protector of lovers, so for fun, young country girls in Brazil will
roll up scraps of paper, each bearing a name of a single girl and place
them into a bowl of water. The first one which unfolds indicates the girl
who will marry first.
- 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[3]
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.
Midsummer[4] is the period of time centered upon the summer
solstice, and more specifically the northern European celebrations
that accompany the actual solstice or take place on a day between June 19 and
June 25 and the preceding evening. The exact dates vary between different
cultures. The undivided Christian Church designated June 24 as the feast day
of the early Christian martyr St John the
Baptist, and the observance of St John's Day begins the evening
before, known as St John's Eve.
Midsummer celebrations held throughout the United States are
largely derived from the cultures of immigrants who arrived from various
European nations since the 19th century. With the rise of earth-centered
spirituality, many, including Unitarian Universalists, celebrate the summer
solstice as a religious holiday.
·
Alaska-As the state of Alaska, northernmost state in the nation,
straddles the Arctic Circle, midsummer is a time
when most of the state is in daylight or civil twilight the entire day. The Midnight Sun Game is an annual tradition in the city of Fairbanks, in which a regulation game of baseball is played at
10:30 p.m. local time, through the midnight hour, with no artificial
lighting.
·
Arizona-Tucson has announced its inaugural Earthwalk Solstice celebration,
with sister events in San Francisco, Jerusalem, and other communities around
the world. The event features a walk through a giant labyrinth, musicians,
healers, ceremony, etc.
·
California-Since 1974, Santa Barbara has hosted an annual
Summer Solstice celebration, typically on the weekend of or the weekend after
the actual solstice. It includes a festival and parade. In Santa Clara County,
the Swedish American Patriotic League has held a Midsummer celebration at
Sveadal for more than 120 years. It includes a parade, decorating and raising a
Maypole, dancing and other activities.
·
Illinois-Geneva hosts a Swedish Day (Swedish: Svenskarnas Dag) festival on the third Sunday of June. The
event, featuring maypole-raising, dancing, and presentation of an authentic
Viking ship, dates back to 1911.
·
Michigan-In Kaleva, Juhannus is celebrated annually on or near the Summer Solstice
by Gathering at the Village Roadside Park. Traditionally Pannukakku (Finnish
Oven Baked Pancake) and strawberry shortcake is enjoyed followed by a bonfire
or kokko. Kaleva was founded in 1900 by Finnish immigrants.
·
Oregon-The Astoria Scandinavian Midsummer Festival has been a
tradition on the North Coast of Oregon for over forty years. The Festival takes
place typically on the 3rd full weekend of June. The festival embodies the rich
cultural heritage that was transplanted to the Astoria, Oregon region by emigrating Scandinavians. In the Pacific Northwest
they found the same bounteous seas and forests as in their native lands and the
demand for their skills at managing them.
·
New York-The NYC Swedish Midsummer celebrations in Battery Park, New York City, attracts some
3,000–5,000 people annually, which makes it one of the largest celebrations
after the ones held in Leksand and at the Skansen Park in Stockholm. Sweden Day, a Midsummer celebration which also honors Swedish heritage and
history, has been held annually on the sound in Throgs Neck in New York City since 1941. Swedish Midsummer is also
celebrated in other places with large Swedish and Scandinavian populations,
such as Rockford, Illinois, Chicago, Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Lindsborg, Kansas. The Swedish
"language village" (summer camp) Sjölunden, run by Concordia College in Minnesota, also
celebrates Midsummer.
·
Washington-The Seattle neighborhood of Fremont puts on a large Summer Solstice Parade
and Pageant, which for many years has controversially included painted naked cyclists. In St. Edwards Park in Kenmore, the Skandia
Folkdance Society hosts Midsommarfest, which includes a Scandinavian solstice
pole.
·
Wyoming-A solstitial celebration is held on Casper Mountain at Crimson Dawn park. Crimson Dawn is known in the area for the great stories of mythical
creatures and people that live on Casper Mountain. The celebration is attended
by many people from the community, and from around the country. A large bonfire
is held, and all are invited to throw a handful of red soil into the fire in
hopes that they get their wish granted.
Daily Devotions
·
Today
Pray the Angelic Choirs
Devotion
for our Nation asking the intersession of the Angelic host.
·
Novena
to Sacred Heart Day 6
·
I
ask your prayers for me and the “Iceman for Christ” blog as this is my
birthday.
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