Weekday Solemnity - Saints Peter and Paul 29th June 2021. (episode: 308)

Weekday Solemnity Saints Peter and Paul 29th June. (episode: 308)

Solemnity of Saints Peter And Paul  29^th June. (episode: 308)

And happy 60th Ordination of Priesthood to my uncle, Fr Clem Hodge. God bless your ministry. 

Readings for the Day
FIRST READING: Acts 12:1-11;
Psalm: Ps 33:2-9 "The Lord set me free from all my fears."
SECOND READING: 2 Tim 4:6-8, 17-18; 
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION, (Matthew 16:18). "Alleluia, alleluia!
You are Peter, the rock on which I will build my Church; the gates of hell will not hold out against it. Alleluia!
GOSPEL: Mt 16:13-19
 
Image Credit: Shutterstock Licensed stock photo ID: 41136337. Icon of saint Apostles Paul and Peter on mahogany and gold. By Dmitry Kalinovsky
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To listen to the audio recording of the readings, prayers and reflections for this feast, please click this link here:

https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/faith-hope-and-love-solemnity-of-saints-peter-and-paul-29th-june-episode-308/s-uwRbim4QHKr    (episode: 308)
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In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

{{Goodness and kindness to you all}}

On this special (feast of) St Peter And Paul
Our Gods love and mercy knows no bounds, and so let us recall our sins so as to worthily celebrate this Holy Sacrifice.

Lord Jesus, you built your church on the solid rock of St Peter's confession. Lord have mercy.
You sent Saint Paul as apostle and teacher to the gentiles. Christ have mercy.
Your apostles were faithful workers in your vineyard. Lord have mercy.
 
May Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.
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Memorial Acclamation
3. Save us, Saviour of the world, for by your Cross and Resurrection you have set us free.
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PREFACE:
Euch .Prayer: 3
(PROPOSED THEME OPENING 1)
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{Thanks for joining us for this time of prayer and reflection}

Dismissal:
Go in peace,  glorifying the Lord by your life
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Prologue:  Saints Peter and Paul Died as martyrs in Rome under the persecutions of emperor Nero, between 64-67 ad. This prominent outstanding feast day of the city of Rome has been observed on this date since the mid-third century. It commemorates the martyrdom of Peter the "chief of the apostles" and of Paul the "apostle to the Gentiles". They are Remembered for their faith, their courage, and their leadership during the difficult days of the birth of our lord's spirit-led church.
 
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HOMILY:
 
St Ambrose (340-397)
One of the original four Doctors of the Church
  "Where Peter is,
there is the Church.
Where the Church is,
there is Jesus Christ.
Where Jesus Christ is,
there is eternal salvation."
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St Augustine (354-430) Father & Doctor of the Church:
 
 "There is one day for the passion of two apostles.
But these two also were as one;
although they suffered on different days, they were as one.
Peter went first, Paul followed.
We are celebrating a feast day, consecrated for us by the blood of the apostles.
Let us love their faith, their lives, their labours,
their sufferings, their confession of faith, their preaching."
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"There must be general rejoicing, dearly beloved,
over this holy company whom God has appointed
to give us example in patience and strengthen our faith.
But we glory even more in the excellence of Peter and Paul, whom the grace of God has raised to such a height among all the members of the Church
that He has set them like "twin lights of eyes" in that Body whose head is Christ."
 
St Pope Leo the Great (400-461) Father & Doctor of the Church
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Today is the anniversary of ordination of many Priests, including my uncle Fr Clem Hodge.  Happy 60^th Anniversary of Priesthood, Fr Clem.

 God has blessed us with your ministry and May God continue to bless your ministry.  Best wishes to all priests celebrating anniversaries of ordination on this special Solemnity.   

Pope Francis – in a June 2014 homily on Peter and Paul says.....in his address to Priests,
 
In today's Feast, the Lord repeats to me, to you… what he said first to the Apostles....  and especially including Saints Peter and Paul.....: Follow Me!
Waste no time in questioning or in useless chattering;
do not dwell on secondary things but look to what is essential and follow Me.
Follow Me without regard for the difficulties.
Follow Me in preaching the Gospel.
Follow Me by the witness of a life shaped by the grace you received in baptism….. and holy orders.
Follow Me by speaking of Me, to those with whom you live, day after day,
in your work, your conversations and among your friends.
Follow Me by proclaiming the Gospel to all, especially to the least among us,
so that no one will fail to hear the word of life,
which sets us free from every fear
and enables us to trust in the faithfulness of God.
Follow Me!
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It wonderful genius from God, to inspire a twofold celebration of these two apostles... it shows both unity and cooperation, but also a single vision...   one serving the communion and care of the universal church, the other a wonderful voice of mission and inclusion ....    a perfect balance...  
 
Let us pray for the unity and peace of the church and the world....  let us unite in a common vision and united action...   let us be inspired by the different talents and different foci of mission but with the same Spirit leading and guiding us to bear much fruit...
 
We also pray in thanksgiving and blessing for all priests, many of whom have their anniversary of Priesthood at this time. May God continue to strengthen and guide and bless their ministry with much fruitfulness and clarity...
 
these wonderful apostles continue to intercede for the Church and the world.....   for continuing unity, charity, courage and vision.
 
Saint Peter and Saint Paul...  pray for us.
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References:
Fr Paul W. Kelly
 
Quotes: https://anastpaul.com/2018/06/29/quote-s-of-the-day-29-june-the-solemnity-of-saints-peter-and-paul/

Image Credit: Shutterstock Licensed stock photo ID: 41136337. Icon of saint Apostles Paul and Peter on mahogany and gold. By Dmitry Kalinovsky
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Archive of homilies and reflections:  http://homilycatholic.blogspot.com.au
To contact Fr. Paul, please email:  paulwkelly68@gmail.com

To listen to our weekly homily audio podcast, please click this link here:  https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/tracks

You are welcome to subscribe to Fr Paul's homily mail-out by sending an email to this address: paulkellyreflections+subscribe@googlegroups.com

Further information relating to the audio productions linked to this Blog:
"Faith, Hope and Love - Christian worship and reflection"  - Led by Rev Paul Kelly

Prayers and chants  — Roman Missal, 3rd edition, © 2010, The International Commission on English in the liturgy. (ICEL)

Scriptures - New Revised Standard Version: © 1989,  and 2009 by the NCC-USA. (National Council of Churches of Christ - USA)

"The Psalms" ©1963, 2009,  The Grail - Collins publishers.

Prayers of the Faithful -   " Together we pray" by Robert Borg'.   E.J. Dwyer, Publishers, (1993) . (Sydney Australia).

Sung "Mass In Honour of St. Ralph Sherwin" -  By Jeffrey M. Ostrowski. The Gloria, Copyright © 2011 ccwatershed.org.

- "Faith, Hope and Love" theme hymn - in memory of William John (Bill) Kelly (1942-2017) -  Inspired by 1 Corinthians 13:1-13. Music by Paul W. Kelly. Arranged and sung, with additional lyrics by Stefan Kelk. 2019.

"Quiet Time."  Instrumental Reflection music. Written by Paul W Kelly. 1988, 2007. & This arrangement: Stefan Kelk, 2020.

- "Today I Arise" - For Trisha J Kelly.  Original words and music by Paul W. Kelly. Inspired by St Patrick's Prayer.  Arranged and sung, with additional lyrics by Stefan Kelk. 2019.

[ Production -  KER -  2021]

May God bless and keep you.

Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Year B. - Sunday, June 27, 2021 (EPISODE: 307)

Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Year B.  - Sunday, June 27, 2021
(EPISODE:307)

Readings for Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Year B. 

FIRST READING: Wis 1: 13-15; 2: 23-24
Ps 30: 2+4, 5-6, 11-12a+13b. "I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me."
SECOND READING: 2 Cor 8: 7, 9, 13-15
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION (cf. 2 Tim 1: 10). Alleluia, alleluia! Our Saviour Jesus Christ has done away with death. And brought us life through his gospel.
GOSPEL: Mark 5: 21-43

Image Credit: Shutterstock Licensed. ID: 82393198 - Raising of Jairus' Daughter
By Zvonimir Atletic.
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Please listen to the audio recordings of the Mass – (Readings, prayers and homily), for Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Year B.  - Sunday, June 27, 2021, by clicking this link here: https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/faith-hope-and-love-ordinary-13b-episode-307/s-aWzR33hFYGl   (EPISODE: 307)
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* (Prologue:  Fr Paul Kelly)

Again this weekend, the Scriptures are truly beautiful and give us a deep insight into the love of God and God's utter commitment to us, his cherished sons and daughters.

Saddle, death is an all too clear reality in the world and in the lives of all of us.  

But The Lord is at pains to point out that death was not on God's original plan.   God's continuing plan is to make us forever his beloved children and to be faithful to them in this life and into eternal life.   God wants us to be always in his care. 

Added to this, God's reaction to death is virtually the same as ours ..    Sadness….  A deep feeling of loss, an overwhelming  compassion for those who are affected,  a depth of love and feeling for us, so deep and so great that one will never, ever witness anything greater.    

Loss leads to our beloved God always reaching out to help ….    And being in there with us in the midst of it.

God has the last word in all things -  this is very reassuring.   Especially when not everything makes sense in our narrow vision of the world.   We, individual humans, have a limited life span and we don't get to see the whole picture. So it is deeply reassuring to know that God who sees all of it, promises that what cannot be set right in this life - will most certainly be set right in the next.    But this God of justice is also quick to point out that there is no excuse for not doing everything possible to make things better and right in this life, and not to overlook injustices and wrongs with the excuse that "it will be all right in heaven."   Our Lord was constantly at work alleviating injustice, suffering, and desolation in this life, (right in there with people) and he also set about including the excluded, calling out double standards, forgiving those stuck in past wrongs, and all the time showing true compassion, love and generosity to everyone he met.  He calls us to follow in his loving footsteps.    

Jesus wants to bring life into every situation, and the promise of hope and life into even the direst of situations.  /.  He is the resurrection and the life.

In contrast, many of the treasures of this life, are in limited supply…   the amount of money and other earthly goods are limited, and unjustly they are not distributed evenly amongst all who are in need.   But, God's storehouse of true and lasting treasures, love, self-giving, compassion, mercy, sharing….  And so on…    there is no limit to this…    God's supplies are excessive and more than sufficient.  He invites us to join him in this different way of thinking, which leads to a different way of acting.
 

For example…  Jesus could have said, now that I have healed the lady who touched me.  my powers have been drained and that's all for today…   but no ./.  He didn't even know she was going to be inspired by faith to take this chance to touch him and be healed.   He congratulated her though for doing this in faith.  Then he continued on his way .. he was heading to the house of the official to heal this man's daughter and he would do this even after this surprise healing.   God's storehouses are overflowing…  we do not need to compete with each other for God's love, God's mercy or God's grace and faithfulness.  It is there in abundance for all. There is enough for all; even in times of the unexpected occurring.

We sometimes find unexpected requests and interruptions to be a trial and a peripheral annoyance, but Jesus included and responded as if this is rightly all part of life's expectations.  The unexpected was to be expected. And of course, it is. The unplanned and the unscheduled is actually a regular vast horizon of God's gracious possibilities and are to be eagerly responded to.   This requires us to change our thinking as well as our expectations.   

Our Lord says, after raising the girl from the dead.  Give her something to eat.  She is not just revived from the dead, she is fully alive and in need of nourishment like anyone else. 
These actions all show us that God wants us to fully engage in life and reach out to others in their needs.   The God of the resurrection is constantly at work turning disaster into life-giving possibilities and will, at the last, call each of us to get up and walk.

God never acts in half measures.
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(Homily:  Fr Peter Dillon).
In today's Gospel Jesus has returned to the west shore of the Sea of Galilee, he is on home ground and as usual, large crowds have gathered around him, yet one person, an important person, comes forward. Jairus is a Jewish official, the supervisor of activities in the Temple. Yet in spite of his influence and his religious status, he shows great humility and falls at the feet of Jesus and begs him to save a life; the life of his 12-year-old daughter. He is a desperate man and he craves the help of the one person who can save his daughter. This is a great act of humility for this influential man, but as we all know, desperation can drive us to do things that might otherwise make us uncomfortable. Oddly, Jesus says nothing and promises nothing. He simply follows him to his house. He lets his actions speak for him.

Death, sickness, anguish and a series of human miseries are brought to our consideration by today's readings. We find light in them to understand all these limitations of our nature. Wisdom explains the origin and nature of death to us. 'Death was not God's doing, he takes no pleasure in the extinction of the living. To be - for this he created all. Death, we are told, is the result of that primeval disobedient choice of our first parents. But even though we die, death is not an annihilation. God formed us to be imperishable, he made us in the image of his own nature. There is life after death and furthermore a moment will come when death, the last of the enemies, will be destroyed.
 
It is important for us to remember that the Gospels are not simply stories of parts of Jesus life, but they are meant to be instructions about how we are to live. He gives his followers, which of course, includes us, examples of how we might approach similar incidents in our lives.

This gospel, along with many other strong examples, tell us of a man who had a fierce kinship with those who suffer, who does not disappoint those who look to him for help. Like Jairus, there are many who suffer on behalf of their loved ones and who feel powerless when they are confronted by the pain of those they love.
It is only when Jesus arrived at the house of Jairus, that he speaks his first words: "do not be afraid; only have faith". He ignores the words of the messengers who inform him that the little girl has died. In fact he rebukes them and tells them to leave. His serene hope contrasts sharply with the despair of those around him, after which he tells them the little girl is only sleeping and he tells her to rise.

What are we to make of this story, and what did the early Christians make of it? They too suffered many illnesses resulting in death. For Mark and his readers this story is the manifestation of the power of the risen Lord to dominate death itself. The nature of death at the time was such a mystery and in the absence of understanding, many strange explanations and myths surfaced. This chapter indicated that faith in Jesus can transform life and can offer victory over death. It is a sleep from which he can and will awaken them, not in this world, but in the world to come. Those watching and listening came to understand that when the world offered no hope, the power of God can prevail over sickness and even death itself. 

In that way he shows that he has come to take upon himself our sickness and death. In the midst of our sufferings, which are sometimes even more acute because we fail to understand them, we should remember our Lord's compassion. Even if we do not know the reason for them, he does, and ultimately we should find our consolation in him.
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References:

Homily – fr peter Dillon

Prologue - Fr Paul W. Kelly

Image Credit: Shutterstock Licensed. ID: 82393198 - Raising of Jairus' Daughter   By Zvonimir Atletic.


Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Year B.   (Sunday, June 27, 2021)  (EPISODE:  307)
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (or/ The Lord be with You)
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{{May Our Lord's Mercy renew you. }} welcome everyone, we gather -  Listen to God's Word and contemplate the sacraments. 

my brothers and sisters, to prepare ourselves to celebrate the sacred mysteries, let us call to mind our sins.

Lord Jesus, you have revealed yourself as the way to the Father: Lord, have mercy//You have poured out on your people the Spirit of truth: Christ, have mercy//You are the Good Shepherd, leading us to eternal life: Lord, have mercy.//

May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life.  Amen.
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Memorial Acclamation
1. We proclaim your Death, O Lord, and profess your Resurrection until you come again.
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Ps 30: 2+4, 5-6, 11-12a+13b. "I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me."

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION (cf. 2 Tim 1: 10). Alleluia, alleluia! Our Saviour Jesus Christ has done away with death. And brought us life through his gospel.
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PREFACE: Sundays VIII
EP I
(theme variation: 3 )

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{May God's grace strengthen your faith hope and love, and may the Lord' love surprise you, even in the trials and challenges of this week. }

Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life.

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Archive of homilies and reflections:  http://homilycatholic.blogspot.com.au
To contact Fr. Paul, please email:  paulwkelly68@gmail.com

To listen to our weekly homily audio podcast, please click this link here:  https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/tracks

You are welcome to subscribe to Fr Paul's homily mail-out by sending an email to this address: paulkellyreflections+subscribe@googlegroups.com

Further information relating to the audio productions linked to this Blog:
"Faith, Hope and Love - Christian worship and reflection"  - Led by Rev Paul Kelly

Prayers and chants  — Roman Missal, 3rd edition, © 2010, The International Commission on English in the liturgy. (ICEL)

Scriptures - New Revised Standard Version: © 1989,  and 2009 by the NCC-USA. (National Council of Churches of Christ - USA)

"The Psalms" ©1963, 2009,  The Grail - Collins publishers.

Prayers of the Faithful -   " Together we pray" by Robert Borg'.   E.J. Dwyer, Publishers, (1993) . (Sydney Australia).

Sung "Mass In Honour of St. Ralph Sherwin" -  By Jeffrey M. Ostrowski. The Gloria, Copyright © 2011 ccwatershed.org.

- "Faith, Hope and Love" theme hymn - in memory of William John (Bill) Kelly (1942-2017) -  Inspired by 1 Corinthians 13:1-13. Music by Paul W. Kelly. Arranged and sung, with additional lyrics by Stefan Kelk. 2019.

"Quiet Time."  Instrumental Reflection music. Written by Paul W Kelly. 1988, 2007. & This arrangement: Stefan Kelk, 2020.

- "Today I Arise" - For Trisha J Kelly.  Original words and music by Paul W. Kelly. Inspired by St Patrick's Prayer.  Arranged and sung, with additional lyrics by Stefan Kelk. 2019.

[ Production -  KER -  2021]

May God bless and keep you.
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Weekday Solemnity of the Birth of John the Baptist 24th June 2021 (episode: 306)

Weekday Solemnity of the Birth of John the Baptist 24th June 2021 (episode: 306)

Readings

First Reading Isaiah 49:1-6

Responsorial Psalm. Ps 138:1-3, 13-15. "I praise you for I am wonderfully made."
 
Second Reading. Acts 13:22-26
 
Gospel Acclamation. cf Luke 1:76. Alleluia, alleluia! You, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways. Alleluia!
 
Gospel. Luke 1:57-66, 80
 
Image Credit: Shutterstock Licensed stock photo ID: 56813196. Brussels, Belgium. 2017/10/27. Icon of Saint John the Forerunner (the Baptist, "Angel of the Desert"). Orthodox Chapel at the Brussels Zaventem Airport.
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To listen to the audio recording of the readings, prayers and reflections for this weekday feast of the Birth of John the Baptist 24^th June 2021, please click this link here: https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/faith-hope-and-love-nativity-of-john-the-baptist-episode-306/s-Y19x0PoLVTY   (episode: 306)
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In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
{{May Our Lord's Mercy renew you.}}

On this special (feast of) Nativity Of John Baptist
Brothers and sisters, as we prepare ourselves to celebrate the Lord,s supper, let us recall our sins and acknowledge them in silence.
Lord Jesus, you call your people to turn away from sin: Lord, have mercy//You teach us wisdom and write your truth in our inmost heart: Christ, have mercy//You forgive sins through the ministry of reconciliation: Lord, have mercy//

May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.

Or
Coming together as brothers and sisters, with confidence let us ask the Fathers forgiveness, for he is full of gentleness and compassion

Lord jesus, john the Baptist came to prepare the way before you. Lord have mercy.

You granted john humility, to decrease, so the lord would increase. Christ have mercy.

Lord jesus, you are the light, to which john gave witness. Lord have mercy.

May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.

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Memorial Acclamation
2. When we eat this Bread and drink this Cup, we proclaim your Death, O Lord until you come again.
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PREFACE: PREFACE OF JOHN THE BAPTIST
Euch.Prayer: 2
(PROPOSED THEME OPENING 3)
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Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord.
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The solemnity of the birth of John the Baptist was observed on this date in the fourth century. It celebrates the holy birth of "the greatest of all the prophets," the one who leapt for joy in his mother's womb, who prepared the way for Christ, announced his presence, and baptised him in the Jordan River.
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HOMILY:
 
Thanks be to God for wonderful, faithful and obedient servants such as John the Baptist and his parents... 
 
Elizabeth and Zechariah were faithful..  they obeyed God, they hoped and trusted in the promises God has long ago made to his people.. and they obeyed God in cooperating in bringing God's will to fulfilment in their lives...  
 
John the Baptist Quotes
 
From his own lips...  John's words, recorded for the inspiration of countless generations include these:
 
Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
(He prepared the world for the imminent coming of the saviour and pointed him out when he arrived)
                    
Anyone with two tunics should share with him who has none.
(In the anticipation of the wonderful and consistent values of the Kingdom from the beginning and revealed fully in Christ, he taught the ethics of concern and charity and justice to all our brothers and sisters in need).
 
Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.
(He taught and practiced the change of heart and mind, the turning back to God and the rightness of trusting in God's mercy).
 
He must increase, but I must decrease.
(such an abiding example of humility... for all us disciples.. this is about Christ.. this not about us....   Christ must increase, we must step back and be servants of Christ's mission...  we are her to usher in the Kingdom of God, not the kingdom of ME!)
 
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The father's of the early church spoke rightly and highly of Saint John the Baptist.....
The Great speaker, John Chrysostom said this of John the Baptist:
 
 
"Such a one was John, who regarded not the crowds, nor opinion, nor anything else belonging to people, but trod all this beneath his feet, and proclaimed to all with becoming freedom the things respecting Christ. And therefore the Evangelist marks the very place, to show the boldness of the loud-voiced herald. For it was not in a house, not in a corner, not in the wilderness, but in the midst of the multitude, after that he had occupied Jordan, when all that were baptized by him were present, (for the Jewish people came upon him as he was baptizing,) there it was that he proclaimed aloud that wonderful confession concerning Christ, full of those sublime and great and mysterious doctrines, and that he was not worthy to unloose the strap of His shoe. Wherefore he says, These things were done in Bethany, or, as all the more correct copies have it, in Bethabara. For Bethany was not beyond Jordan, nor bordering on the wilderness, but somewhere near to Jerusalem." 
 
////
 
The best quote is reserved of course to Our Lord himself who summed up Saint John so extraordinarily:
"Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. (Matt 11:11)
 
 
William Barlcay explains this great compliment by Christ and also the meaning of this mysterious line at the end....
 
 
"Such was the tremendous tribute of Jesus to John, spoken with the accent of admiration. There had never been a greater figure in all history; and then comes the startling sentence: "But he who is least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he."
 
Here there is one quite general truth. With Jesus there came into the world something absolutely new. The prophets were great; their message was precious; but with Jesus there emerged something still greater, and a message still more wonderful. C. G. Montefiore, himself a Jew and not a Christian, writes: "Christianity does mark a new era in religious history and in human civilization. What the world owes to Jesus and to Paul is immense; things can never be, and men can never think, the same as things were, and as men thought, before these two great men lived." Even a non-Christian freely admits that things could never be the same now that Jesus had come.
 
But what was it that John lacked? What is it that the Christian has that John could never have? The answer is simple and fundamental. John had never seen the Cross. Therefore one thing John could never know--the full revelation of the love of God. The holiness of God he might know; the justice of God he might declare; but the love of God in all its fulness he could never know. We have only to listen to the message of John and the message of Jesus. No one could call John's message a gospel, good news; it was basically a threat of destruction. It took Jesus and his Cross to show to men the length, breadth, depth and height of the love of God. It is a most amazing thing that it is possible for the humblest Christian to know more about God than the greatest of the Old Testament prophets. The man who has seen the Cross has seen the heart of God in a way that no man who lived before the Cross could ever see it. Indeed the least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than any man who went before.
 
So John had the destiny which sometimes falls to people; he had the task of pointing all the world to greatness into which he himself did not enter. It is given to some people in History, to be the signposts of God. They point to a new ideal and new greatness which others will enter into, but into which they will not come. It is very seldom that any great person of moment in history is the first one to toil for the reform with which their name is connected. Many who went before them glimpsed the glory, often laboured for it, and sometimes died for it, yet did not live to see it fulfilled completely.
 
There is a legend told of a person who, from the windows of his house every evening, used to watch the lamp-lighter go along the streets lighting the lamps--and the lamp-lighter was himself a blind man. He was bringing to others the light which he himself would never see. Let a person never be discouraged in the Church or in any other walk of life, if the dream they have dreamed and for which they have toiled is never worked out before the end of their days. God needed John; God needs his signposts who can point people on the way, although they themselves decreased before that goal is achieved."   Great is the reward they laboured for in God's vineyard…..  
 
Saint John the Baptist, and Saints Elizabeth and Zechariah…  pray for us…  
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References:
Fr Paul W. Kelly
Barclay, W. (1975). The Gospel of Matthew. Part II. 2nd ed. Edinburgh: St. Andrew Press.
 
https://www.azquotes.com/author/39145-John_the_Baptist
Image Credit: Shutterstock Licensed stock photo ID: 56813196. Brussels, Belgium. 2017/10/27. Icon of Saint John the Forerunner (the Baptist, "Angel of the Desert"). Orthodox Chapel at the Brussels Zaventem Airport.
++++++++
Archive of homilies and reflections:  http://homilycatholic.blogspot.com.au
To contact Fr. Paul, please email:  paulwkelly68@gmail.com

To listen to our weekly homily audio podcast, please click this link here:  https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/tracks

You are welcome to subscribe to Fr Paul's homily mail-out by sending an email to this address: paulkellyreflections+subscribe@googlegroups.com

Further information relating to the audio productions linked to this Blog:
"Faith, Hope and Love - Christian worship and reflection"  - Led by Rev Paul Kelly

Prayers and chants  — Roman Missal, 3rd edition, © 2010, The International Commission on English in the liturgy. (ICEL)

Scriptures - New Revised Standard Version: © 1989,  and 2009 by the NCC-USA. (National Council of Churches of Christ - USA)

"The Psalms" ©1963, 2009,  The Grail - Collins publishers.

Prayers of the Faithful -   " Together we pray" by Robert Borg'.   E.J. Dwyer, Publishers, (1993) . (Sydney Australia).

Sung "Mass In Honour of St. Ralph Sherwin" -  By Jeffrey M. Ostrowski. The Gloria, Copyright © 2011 ccwatershed.org.

- "Faith, Hope and Love" theme hymn - in memory of William John (Bill) Kelly (1942-2017) -  Inspired by 1 Corinthians 13:1-13. Music by Paul W. Kelly. Arranged and sung, with additional lyrics by Stefan Kelk. 2019.

"Quiet Time."  Instrumental Reflection music. Written by Paul W Kelly. 1988, 2007. & This arrangement: Stefan Kelk, 2020.

- "Today I Arise" - For Trisha J Kelly.  Original words and music by Paul W. Kelly. Inspired by St Patrick's Prayer.  Arranged and sung, with additional lyrics by Stefan Kelk. 2019.

[ Production -  KER -  2021]

May God bless and keep you.