Faithfulness and Love

Category Archives: Birthday

Birthday of John the Baptist

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Normally, we celebrate the feasts of saints on the day of their death, where they are born into eternal life. However, there are three birthdays which are important to us Catholics: Christmas, September 8 (the birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary) and June 24 (the birth of St. John the Baptist). Christmas and mummy Mary’s birthday we can understand more or less why we celebrate them. But John the Baptist? Celebrating his birthday clearly shows how important and vital John the Baptist’s role is in God’s plan of salvation, since Jesus said: “I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John” (Lk 7:28).

John the Baptist’s greatness is based on his faithful fulfilment of his role in introducing the Messiah and upholding the Truth. He showed this in three ways. The first is his humility. When asked by the people who he is, he replied: “I am not the Messiah. I am the voice crying out in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way of the Lord!’ He must increase and I must decrease.” Here, John the Baptist shows that he is not the one people should go after. Secondly, he showed his fidelity to his mission, by living and dying as a prophet, faithfully pointing the way to the Messiah. Thirdly, he showed courage for the truth. He dared to challenge Herod for taking his brother’s wife, Herodias, as his wife, reminding Herod that such an act was wrong, adulterous and sinful. As a result, John the Baptist was beheaded.

John the Baptist challenges all of us to be heralds of the Gospel, with conviction and courage to proclaim the Truth. The truth cannot be compromised, but proclaimed and defended, even if one experiences persecution or even death. May we learn to be like John the Baptist, upholding the truth, and pointing others to Jesus.

Birthday of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Feast

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Some of us may be thinking that we are nobodies, that we are small and insignificant, and we would have thought that our opinions do not matter, since we do not seem to have any clout, power, popularity or so-called authority. What we may have failed to realise is that sometimes, people who seem to be nobodies could be just as wise or even wiser in their thoughts and their conduct. Just because such people have nothing of value or significance in the eyes of the world, we may have brushed them off or not taken them seriously, when in reality, their value or significance can be seen if we look deeper with eyes of faith.

In today’s reading, we are told of Bethlehem which to the Israelites was a small and insignificant place. But as the reading tells us: “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, the least of the clans of Judah, out of you will be born for me the one who is to rule over Israel; his origin goes back to the distant past, to the days of old… He will stand and feed his flock with the power of the Lord, with the majesty of the name of his God. They will live secure, for from then on he will extend his power to the ends of the land. He himself will be peace.” From what seems like such a small and insignificant place, our Saviour Jesus was born. From such a place where nobody would have given any thought of, our King of kings and Prince of Peace came forth to bring the Good News of God’s salvation to all.

This is why we should never take for granted other people. Take the example of mother Mary whose birthday we celebrate today. To others, she was just like any other Jewish girl, nothing great or important. But God made her the mother of His Son, Jesus, and mother of God. God had transformed what people think as insignificant, to become significant and important, if we look with eyes of faith and trust. Let us be thankful and grateful to God for the gift of mother Mary, and also the gift of each and every one of us, because all of us are made in His image, and we are important and significant in the eyes of God.

Birthday of John the Baptist

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Who is John the Baptist? Why are we celebrating His birthday? What is so significant about him? John the Baptist is the last of the Old Testament prophets. At the same time, his ministry begins the New Testament period. Therefore, he is the link between the Old and the New Testament. But is this reason enough to celebrate the feast of his birthday? There is actually more than meets the eye, and we shall soon discover other significant points concerning why we celebrate his birthday.

We celebrate the feast of his birth because we are also called to share in his ministry as a prophet. Each of us is also called by God to his ministry even before we were born, as the prophet Isaiah in the first reading writes: “the Lord called me before I was born, from my mother’s womb he pronounced my name.” This means that we are not the result of some accident, but we are part of God’s plan and have a purpose and a mission in life. Also, we have been called to preach the Good News of God’s salvation. The prophet Isaiah reminds us that God has made our mouth a sharp sword or a sharpened arrow. This means that we cannot remain silent and remain hidden in our comfort zone.

Besides that, as God’s servant and prophet, we must remember that our reward comes from the Lord, and we should not expect any other earthly reward or payment for what we do. This means that we must not compromise the truth or allow ourselves to be bribed into diluting the truth, even though there will be people who will not like what we say. Moreover, our role is to bring a message of healing and reconciliation to all, just as John the Baptist preached a message of repentance and reconciliation, and called the people to turn back to God by turning away from their evil ways to prepare for the coming of the Lord.

Ultimately, we are to point the way to Jesus. We must decrease as Jesus increases. Our message and our ministry does not point to ourselves; and we must lead others to Christ, not to ourselves. All these points mentioned are precisely what John the Baptist did, and we are called to do the same by giving glory to God.

Today, as we celebrate the feast of the birthday of John the Baptist, let us learn from his example, for his example is precisely the model of Christian discipleship. May we, like John the Baptist, bear witness to the Light, and prepare others for the Lord.

Birthday of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Feast

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Each and every one of us has got a purpose and role in God’s plan of salvation. Sometimes we do not know what our purpose and role is. Sometimes we are aware of our purpose and role, but we do not understand why we are in such a purpose and role. Whatever the circumstances may be, our purpose and role is significant and not something we take upon ourselves. It is God who chooses us to fulfil such a purpose and role, no matter how big or small it may be.

In today’s Gospel, we see the genealogy of Jesus. Each of His “ancestors” in the genealogy had a purpose and role in God’s salvific plan, and this geneology also includes women being mentioned. This shows that God’s plan of salvation involves different sorts of people, regardless of gender. Though we may wonder how some of these people fitted in, seeing that some of them lived “colourful” lives, we should remember that God can make crooked lines straight, and what we think as unsuitable is suitable in His plan. Even Mary, whose birthday we celebrate today, was not exempted from questioning eyes among the Israelites. Yet, God found her suitable and even gave her the honour of being mother of His son Jesus Christ.

If we feel as if we are too incapable or too sinful to serve any purpose in building God’s Kingdom, take heart and know that God has His ways. He can transform what may seem to be a bad reputation or situation to something beautiful. Are we humble and willing to let Him transform us?

Birthday of John the Baptist

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Today we celebrate the birth of St. John the Baptist. He was the son of Zechariah and Elizabeth. The angel Gabriel announced his birth to his father Zechariah and gave him the name John, which means “God is gracious.”

From John the Baptist, we can learn some important things:

We learn of John’s humility when he did not want attention on himself but directed people to Jesus. People wondered if John was the Messiah and he insisted that he was not. He declared that his ministry was to prepare for the coming of the Messiah and even said, “He must increase, I must decrease.”

We learn of John’s great courage in condemning the marriage of Herod to Herod’s brother’s wife. This is a reminder to us that not everything that is allowed by law is morally right, e.g. divorce and abortion. John stood up for the truth and unfortunately like many who stand up for the truth today he had to pay a price.

John’s courage in upholding the truth challenges us in a time when it is not popular to speak or live by the truth. By turning attention away from himself towards Jesus, John reminds us to do the same also in our lives. In each of us, we ourselves are to decrease and Jesus is to increase. Are we able to be firm and fervent in doing what is right and let Jesus have the greater glory?