548. June 24, St John Baptist
Meditations no. 479 (unofficial computer-aided translation)
From his motherâs womb, St John the Baptist announces the coming of the Saviour.
The birth of St John the Baptist was announced to Zachary by an angel from heaven. But the angel said, Zachary, do not be afraid; your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth is to bear you a son, to whom you shall give the name of John. Joy and gladness shall be yours, and many hearts shall rejoice over his birth, for he is to be high in the Lordâs favour; he is to drink neither wine nor strong drink; and from the time when he is yet a child in his motherâs womb he shall be filled with the Holy Spirit.
We joyfully celebrate this event today, for the birth of the Baptist admirably shows the effectiveness of the Redemption. The Blessed Virgin had come with haste to visit her cousin Elizabeth. No sooner had he heard her greeting than a unique, marvellous thing happened⌠the Baptist leaps in his motherâs womb. He would eventually come to say that he was to go before the Lord preparing his way and baptising with water; here he was baptised by the Holy Spirit.
When God calls someone for a specific mission, he grants all the necessary and appropriate graces for the fulfilment of his task. In the case of St John the Baptist, who had to prepare the Lordâs earthly path, divine intervention begins even before his birth. For that reason, the Church applies these words of the book of Isaiah to him: the Lord sent me his summons, kept me in mind already, when I lay in my motherâs womb. Word of mine is sword of his, ready sharpened, under cover of his hand; arrow he has chosen out carefully, hidden yet in his quiver⌠And he told me: I have appointed you to be the light of the gentiles, in you I will send out my salvation to the furthest corners of the earth.
Our Lord chooses his instruments from all eternity and generously bestows his graces on them. However, he requires our correspondence; we must welcome his gifts and let him act without putting up resistance. To merit that God-given light we must have the love and humility to recognise our need for salvation. And we must say with St Peter: Lord, to whom should we go? Thy words are the words of eternal life; we have learned to believe, and are assured that you are the Christ, the Son of God (John 6: 69-70). If we truly live this way, if we allow Godâs calling to enter our heart, weâll be able to repeat truthfully that we do not walk amongst dark shadows. Above our miseries and personal defects, shines the light of God, which is like the sun shining above the storm clouds.
Before he was born, John began his mission as Precursor. It all started with the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin, since our Lady is present at each soulâs encounter with Jesus. She brings us abundant graces to fulfil the Will of God. Commenting on her stay with her cousin Elizabeth, St Ambrose writes: One can well understand why Mary most holy, on the one hand, should lend her services. As well, that she should do so during a symbolic number of months. For she did not remain such a long time simply because she was related, but also, for the sake of the Prophet. Her entrance alone produced an effect so great that the child leapt for joy in the maternal womb upon Maryâs greeting. His mother was filled with the Holy Spirit. Then, how much shouldnât we value the effects of Maryâs presence during such a lengthy period of time.
The Baptist spent his life preparing the way of the Lord.
Calling and sending; vocation and mission: these are double aspects of the same reality embracing oneâs entire life. Upon calling his Precursor, God entrusts him with an assignment for the good of all humanity: He shall bring back many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God, ushering in his advent in the spirit and power of an Elias. He shall unite the hearts of all, the fathers with the children⌠preparing for the Lord a people fit to receive him.
The entire life of the Baptist will be a faithful reflection of these words of the angel, since he will spend himself completely in preparing souls for their encounter with Christ. He removed any personal interests; his sole objective was to bring men to Christ. The Gospel narrates that, on a certain occasion, Johnâs disciples had had a dispute with the Jews, about purification, and now they come to John, and told him, Master, there was one with thee on the other side of the Jordan, to whom you did then bear testimony. We find that he is baptising now, and all are flocking to him. John answered, A man must be content to receive the gift which is given him from heaven, and nothing more. You yourselves are my witnesses that I told you, I am not the Christ; I have been sent to go before him.
John humbly confesses the limitations of his assignment. He knows the limit of the powers he has received from heaven and he knows that his mission is subordinated to that of Christ. The desire to shine on his own merits before the multitudes does not move him. Nor does praise for his doctrine and the number of his followers. On the contrary, nothing makes him so happy as seeing how the fruits of his work begin being reaped by the true master of souls, Jesus Christ. The bride is for the bridegroom; but the bridegroomâs friend, who stands by and listens to him, rejoices too, rejoices at hearing the bridegroomâs voice; and this joy is mine now in full measure. He must become more and more, I must become less and less. How beautiful is John the Baptistâs way of acting! How clean, noble and disinterested! Truly he was preparing the ways of the Lord. His disciples had only heard of Christ, and he urges them to talk with the Master. He makes sure they see and get to know him; he allows them to have the chance to admire the miracles He works.
Many times, our founder used the example of the Precursor as the basis for speaking to us about our apostolic mission. John the Baptist, who had a peripatetic teaching post, was once walking from one place to another. And they followed him, as he baptised with water. With him were John, who later became an Apostle, and Andrew. And the Baptist said, on seeing the Lord come by: Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world (John 1: 36). They looked at Him, they followed Him⌠Jesus passes by, and his presence draws them.
They are drawn because those whom He himself has chosen to be apostles faithfully fulfil their mission. Since they are humble, they know that whatever good they have, comes from Godâs providing it. Like St John the Baptist, they carry out that lifetime programme which is the only guarantee of supernatural fruits: He must become more and. more, I must become less and less.
Rectitude of intention and humility in all our actions.
Our Father, who confided to St John the Baptist the mission of preparing a perfect people for Jesus Christ, grant your faithful the grace of spiritual joy and guide our steps along the way of salvation and peace.
The figure of St John the Baptist is an example of an upright intention, as our founder affirmed, because you and I must be, like John, witnesses of Jesus Christ. We go along unnoticed in the middle of the world, but without any secrets. With Godâs help, we struggle to be better.
Our motto is that of the Baptist: Illum oportet crescere, me autem minui (John 3: 30); it is right that Christ grow in me, and that I become smaller. For that reason, our greatest ambition - the true glory of the Work - is to live without human glory, so that God alone can be glorified, soli Deo honor et gloria (1 Tim1: 17).
The example of the Precursor, who places all his work at Christâs feet, moves us to ask our Lord for a deep sense of service. Our founder wrote: Such a heroic manifestation of an upright intention is very good for you to keep in mind. True humility in Godâs service must always be lived in the Work; I refer to the readiness of all my children to leave aside the most flourishing personal work - it could be in politics - in order to dedicate themselves to other professional tasks. Externally, these tasks might be less conspicuous, but they do them if the good of the apostolate requires it and if those with authority in the Work so decide.
Such habitual readiness is a very obvious sign of detachment, because it is all the same for us to work here or there, as long as our work is a service to God and to all souls. With this spirit, my children learn to please God in everything they do. And they avoid the contagious, disorderly craving for power and personal ambition.
I presume that you are all making the resolution of trying to be very humble. You will thus avoid many disappointments in life, and you will be like fruit-bearing trees⌠but not only full of leaves. You will also bear fruit. When fruit is empty, it does not hold much sweet, fleshy pulp. It weighs little, and so the branches from which it hangs carry their fruit high in the air⌠this is like vanity! On the contrary, when the fruit is mature, it is large in size and its pulp is sweet and pleasing to the taste, as I was saying before. Then the branches hang low, with humility. That is how I want my children to be. That is how I would like to be if you help me: like a tree that gives much fruit⌠a tree that is pleasing to God and to souls, because it does good to everyone. So, humility. Let us ask for it from Mary most holy, our Mother. That is the reason why I have taught you to have that compliment to the Blessed Virgin always on your lips⌠that cry of Ancilla Domini!