Republished Reflections for the Feast of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist
[Late Night Update on the Sunday Within the Octave of the Feast of the Sacred Heart, the Third Sunday after Pentecost, and the Commemorations of Saint William the Abbot and of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist: Compling the documentation for my next original article has occupied much of the past two days. It will do so again tomorrow, Monday, June 26 2017, the Feast of Saints John an Paul. It is my hope, though, to complete the article for publication on Wednesday, June 28, 2017, the Feast of Saint Irenaeus and the Vigil of the Solemnity of Saints Peter Paul with the respective Ocatves of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist.
[Part of the reason for the delay is that the glare of the computer screen has taken a toll on my eyesight. Funds have been raised privately for a visit to an optician so I can obtain and then fill a prescription for new glasses. It will be necessary to be away from the computer for the most of the day such an appointment can be scheduled. If it is not tomorrow, therefore, I will be at work on the article. If it can be scheduled for tomorrow, Monday, of course, I will be away from the computer. Thanks for your patience as age and the constant eyestrain of squinting at the computer screen has caught up with my eyes. All to thee, Blessed Mother. All to thy Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart. Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I love you. Save souls!)
Two republished refections are being published today, the Feast of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist:
He Shall Be Called John
Saint John the Baptist: Everything Than Jorge Mario Bergoglio Is Not
Today's great feast, coming as it does six months, one day prior to Christmas Day, is only one of three in the liturgical calendar of the Catholic Church that commemorates a physical birth (or Nativity). Our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ's Nativity in Bethlehem in celebrated on Christmas Day, December 25. Our Lady Nativity is celebrated on September 8. And Our Lord's Precursor, the son of Saint Elizabeth, Saint John the Baptist, is privileged to have his own Nativity celebrated this very day. This is a tremendous feast day in the life of the Catholic Church. Posted today is a revised article on the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist and a new (and very short) article that is simply an exhortation to pray to Saint John the Baptist live with perhaps just a modicum of his spirit of prayer, penance, fasting and self-denial.
Saint John the Baptist, the last of the Old Testament prophets, prepared the way for the coming of Our Lord prior to the assumption of His Public Ministry. Freed from Original Sin in the womb of his mother, Saint Elizabeth, who was Saint Anne's cousin, at the moment of Our Lady's Visitation, Saint John the Baptist preached fearlessly to convert sinners from their sinful ways and to prepare them to accept his Cousin, God Incarnate, as their Redeemer. He also knew that he had to decrease in stature in the world as Our Lord increased following His symbolic baptism in the Jordan River, during which, of course, God the Father sent a dove, symbolizing God the Holy Ghost, spoke to tell us in no uncertain terms, "This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased" (Matthew 3: 17), a proclamation that would God the Father repeated at Our Lord's Transfiguration (Matthew 17: 5).
Saint John the Baptist fearlessly proclaimed the truth. He lost his head for doing so. In like manner, of course, we must proclaim the truth, doing so out of fidelity to Our Lord as He has revealed Himself to His true Church, and in true Charity for the eternal good of others, recognizing at all times that we are but weak vessels of clay, full of faults and failings, who must make much reparation to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus through the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary for our sins.
It is not easy to speak truth to those in power. Saint John the Baptist knew this.
Those in power, such as King Herod the Tetrarch, who was married illicitly to his brother's wife even though his brother was still very much alive, frequently believe themselves to be beyond criticism and that each of their decisions are binding upon the consciences of all others, a power that Our Lord has given exclusively to true popes, who can indeed bind our consciences. And it is frequently the case that even true bishops in in the decades before the "Second" Vatican Council had a tendency to figuratively lop off the heads of anyone who questioned their personnel decisions, a tendency that has borne such rotten fruit as the unquestioning "trust" rendered to top lieutenants in the past made possible the infestation of corruption among the ranks of the conciliar presbyterate, an infestation that has scandalized many Catholics and caused some to lose the Faith altogether.
Those in civil power, however, tend to think of themselves as demigods whose musings on this or that subject carry great significance. No matter who the President of the United States of America is, for example, it is invariably the case that some sort variation of one false, naturalistic presupposition after another is supposed to be accepted by the populace as the foundation for the common good domestically and for peace internationally. These "demigods" can't possibly be wrong, of course. They believe that their shallow words and empty and sometimes contradictory statements are received from on high (actually, their words and actions come from below!) and anyone who dares to dissent from them is suspect of being a "domestic terrorist."
We must, therefore, ask Saint John the Baptist to pray for the restoration of a true pope on the Throne of Saint Peter in order to defend the truth of Divine Revelation after decades upon decades of attacks upon it by the mighty powers of the counterfeit church of concilairism and by the potentates in civil government who share conciliarism's rejection of the Social Reign of Christ the King and believe, instead, that men of "good will" can pursue the "common good" without seeking the conversion of all men and all nations to the Catholic Faith, outside of which there is no salvation and without which there can be no true social order.
The next original article for this site will be a follow-up to Chronicling the Adversary's Global Takeover of the Healthcare Industry, which was published one month ago now. As there is much documentation to be included in the article, it may take up to three more days before it is completed. (I am also working on adapating my doctoral dissertation, which was defended orally and then approved on Friday, May 20, 1977, forty long years ago now, for publication. This work is tedious. However, the finished product should be of interest to a few readers. I simply have not had time to attend to this. This is a project that may interfere at times with the completion of articles, but it is simply one of several book projects that I want to complete as I am not getting any younger.)
Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us.
Saint John the Baptist, pray for us
