Book Reviews and More: Feast of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist 2018

Sunday, 24 June 2018

Feast of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist 2018

Feast of the nativity of Saint John the Baptist

Twelfth Sunday of Ordinary Time 2018

This weekend there are two optional liturgies. On Saturday evening it can be the Vigil mass, and then on Sunday the Feast on the day of. There are two sets of readings, but they echo the same messages.

Reading for the Vigil Mass Feast of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist:

First Reading Jeremiah 1:4-10
Responsorial Psalm 71:1-2, 3, 5-6, 15, 17 Response 6
Second Reading 1 Peter 1:8-12
Gospel Luke 1:5-17

Reading for the mass on the Feast Day of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist:

First Reading Isaiah 49:1-6
Responsorial Psalm 139:1-3, 13-15 Response 14
Second Reading Acts 13:22-26
Gospel Luke 1:57-66, 80

As I write this I am home with a very sick little boy. It started earlier in the week with his little sister. She was not feeling well Monday or Tuesday Evening, and Wednesday stayed home from school with a fever. Thursday I was home sick, and Friday I worked from home because I still had the fever and other symptoms. And now on Saturday morning, my little guy is home sick, and he seems to have been hit the hardest. We found out that 6 of 19 kids in our youngest’s grade 2 class were out sick this week. The beginning of summer if a terrible time for the flu. But we can comfort and support each other. Yet even with a week of illness we have much to be thankful for. And for this week's reflection I will focus on the two Responsorial Psalms.

Vigil Mass:

R. From My mother’s womb, you have been my strength.

In you, O Lord, I take refuge;
let me never be put to shame.
In Your righteousness deliver me and rescue me;
incline your ear to me and save me.

Be to me a rock for refuge,
a strong fortress, to save me,
for you are my rock and my fortress.
Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked.

For you, O Lord, are my hope,
my trust, O Lord, from my youth.
Upon you I have leaned from my birth;
from my mother’s womb you have been my strength.

My mouth will tell of your righteousness acts,
of your deeds of salvation all day long.
O God, from my youth you have taught me,
and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds.

Feast Day Mass:

R. I praise you, for I am wonderfully made.

O Lord, you have searched me and know me.
You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from far away.
You search out my path and my laying down,
and are acquainted with all my ways.

For it was you who formed my inward parts;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you,
for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

Wonderful are your works; that I know very well.
My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.

There is a lot that can be unpacked from those15 versus. I admit I have struggled in life. Emotional struggles, monetary struggles. And some awful messy stuff in my past, from my youth into my early 30’s. But God has always been faithful. God has known me and welcomed me every time I came home. I had a grandmother who thought I would be come a priest, she prayed for me a lot. And even though she was not Catholic, she would take us to mass, or to whichever United or Anglican church she was attending at the time. This photo is of Grandma and I at my confirmation I believe in 1984.

At the time I chose the gift of Knowledge. There are many times I have looked back on my life and wished I had chosen Wisdom instead. My oldest has started her confirmation preparation, and they must choose a saint that does not match their name. Things have changed. But God has stayed the same. God has been my deliverer, my rock, my refuge. I have been blessed so many ways in life. I will continue to trust god through this phase in life and follow his leadings.

I challenge you to go back and reread the two scripture sections above. Read them slowly, read them and let them sink into your heart, into your mind, and into your spirit. No matter how hard things are now, we have a God we can trust in.

And next week is the Feast of Saint Peter and Paul, Apostles, again we have two sets of readings for a vigil and a day of mass. Until then know that I am praying for you my friends, family, and readers, and I ask you to be praying for my family and me.