Because John the Baptists birthday falls on this Sunday, it takes the place of the normal Sunday. This tells us right away how important his life is for understanding Jesus Christ and how important his life is for living in the Church.
May each of us come to understand John the Baptist and through him come to understand more profoundly the mysteries of our faith. May our lives point to Jesus Christ in every aspect of our being. May our faith be deepened and strengthened by this celebration so that we can point to the Lord with joy and gladness.
The spirit of the feast is expressed well in these words from the preface of our Mass today: We honour the prophet who prepared the way before your Son. You set John the Baptist apart, marking him out with special favour. His birth brought great rejoicing
You chose John the Baptist from all the prophets to show the world its redeemer, the lamb of sacrifice
You found John worthy of a martyrs death, his last and greatest act of witness to your Son.
John the Baptist opened the way to Jesus. Once Jesus appeared on the scene, John's calling had come to an end. As John the Baptist said, "I am not worthy to untie the laces of the sandals on his feet." "He must increase and I must decrease".
Despite his humility, John was a celebrity in his own way. Thousands flocked to hear him and be baptised by him. But John was not interested in fame. He never wanted to draw attention to himself. He wanted to draw attention only to Jesus. Sometimes we hang our heads and often we're not proud of what we believe in. It's almost as if its unfashionable and a bit embarrassing to say we believe. John was the exact opposite. He had no reservations and no inhibitions in proclaiming that he was proud to be a follower of Jesus. We too are called to hold our heads up.
We are called to be proud of what we believe and to be grateful that we have indeed something to build our lives on. Without our faith our foundations are indeed shallow.
Let us ask John the Baptist today to help us – that by the way we live our lives we will try to clear a path that will draw others closer to knowing and experiencing Christ
Saint John the Baptist, pray for us!
Peters Pence
The Popes collection will be taken up this weekend 23rd/24th June at all Masses. The collection is used by the Pope to support special charitable projects in developing countries as well as defraying expenses of the work of the Church.
Turners Cross Active Retired Group
are now closed for the months of July & August. Reopening on 4th sept. when new members are most welcome at the Social Services Center, Capwell Rd.
Parish Steering Group
Will meet in Fr. Kerrys house this Mon. 25th June at 8pm
Help wanted
Can you spare an hour on Friday evenings 2-3pm to help to clean our Church. We are very grateful to the few who take care of our Church every week. Many hands make the work lighter. Please contact one of the Priests if you can help.
Death
We offer sincere and prayerful sympathy to the Families of Daniel Kelleher, High St. Mary Ellen Murphy, Mt. Plesent Rd and Tony Kelly, O'Connell Cres. Lord grant them eternal peace and joy, and to their families & friends strength and comfort.