Saturday of the Third Week of Advent (December 23, 2017): God has a plan

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 1:57-66)

When the time arrived for Elizabeth to have her child she gave birth to a son. Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy toward her, and they rejoiced with her. When they came on the eighth day to circumcise the child, they were going to call him Zechariah after his father, but his mother said in reply, “No. He will be called John.” But they answered her, “There is no one among your relatives who has this name.” So they made signs, asking his father what he wished him to be called. He asked for a tablet and wrote, “John is his name,” and all were amazed. Immediately his mouth was opened, his tongue freed, and he spoke blessing God. Then fear came upon all their neighbors, and all these matters were discussed throughout the hill country of Judea. All who heard these things took them to heart, saying, “What, then, will this child be?” For surely the hand of the Lord was with him.

Good News Reflection:

Introductory Prayer: Lord, I believe that you had a plan for John the Baptist. Likewise, you are preparing me for the coming of your Son. Open my eyes to see your plan in my life.

Petition: Lord, once again I see that you have a plan for me. You want me to be ready for your coming this Christmas. Help me to prepare myself spiritually for your coming.

1. God Has a Plan “Gabriel said to Mary, ‘Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age…nothing is impossible with God” (Luke 1:37). God chose to send John the Baptist into the world at a particular time in history to prepare us for the coming of Christ. God is in total control. “Our God is in the heavens; he does whatever he pleases” (Psalm 115: 3). He did not have to send John the Baptist into the world, but in his plan to prepare us for the coming of his Son, he chose to do so. His plan for us is to help us, to prepare us to see him forever in heaven. He has willed for the Baptist to come into the world to remind us that he is in charge and that his way is the only way; there is no other.

2. “His Name Is John.” God names John the Baptist to proclaim the Messiah. He is not just another child, but the precursor of the Lord. God has a specific plan for John the Baptist since the beginning of time. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says: “St John the Baptist is…sent to prepare his way….John surpasses all the prophets, of whom he is the last….Going before Jesus ‘in the spirit and power of Elijah,’ John bears witness to Christ in his preaching, by his Baptism of conversion, and through his martyrdom” (no. 523). This is John the Baptist, the bridge between the Old and New Testaments, the bridge between the Law of Moses and the Law of Christ.

3. “What Then Will This Child Be?” John sets the pace and tone for us, preparing us for the coming of the Lord. “He proclaims the imminence of the consolation of Israel; he is the ‘voice’ of the Consoler who is coming….John came to bear witness to the light”(Catechism of the Catholic Church, 719). John is the Lord’s herald, speaking about him and reminding us of our goal and purpose in life. He has come into the world to remind us of who is to come. God wants us to correspond to his plan, not our own. “John is ‘Elijah who must come.’ The fire of the Spirit dwells in him and makes him the forerunner of the coming Lord. In John, the precursor, the Holy Spirit completes the work of ‘[making] ready a people prepared for the Lord’”(Catechism, 718).

Dialogue with Christ: Lord, you have sent John the Baptist to prepare me for Christmas. Help me to get ready.

Resolution: I will make one small sacrifice at dinner to help myself get ready for Christmas.

Fr. Marcial Maciel, LC

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• Đức Mẹ Hằng Cứu Giúp