St. John is certainly an appropriate saint for the Fortnight for Freedom. King Herod had him killed because he dared to speak out about the man's corruption. (No religious freedom rights for loudmouthed saints!) His preaching earned him the diabolical hatred of Herod's wife, Herodias. She bided her time until she could bring about John's murder with the aid of her seductive daughter and Herod's lust.
How many of us dare to speak truth to power, even to the emotional power of our children, relatives, and friends? We shrink from anything that makes us "uncomfortable." Somebody might think we are "judgmental." Not that we need to imitate the fire and brimstone style of a Savonarola calling for the Church to rule the state, but we are called to witness, going out "to the whole world." We would do well to reach at least the first circle of the world by speaking the truth to family and friends.
But it's not easy to do, God knows. What a blessing that we have in John the Baptist the perfect saint to intercede for us as we evangelize, one who prepared the way of the Lord by his preaching and the witness of his life. He can help prepare us as well.
St. John the Baptist, pray for us!
When I went in for my tooth extraction, when the nurses were hooking me up to a heart rate monitor they let me keep my brown scapular on for the procedure. Whew. All it took was a brief explanation of my "Catholic Dog Tags" and they brightened up. Small stuff but I think this all adds up to witness. I've missed a few opportunities to witness but not too many. Candidly, I pray God to send me more. I'm a pretty thin reed for the Lord to rely on and often ask Him why He should choose such as me. I'll find out from Him soon enough. Better to be ready with our "Gold"...
ReplyDeleteSounds like an opportunity taken to me. I wear the miraculous medal but nobody has asked me about it yet.
ReplyDelete