Monday, December 16 : Saint Augustine

It is not easy to distinguish the Word from the voice, and that is why they thought John was the Messiah. They took the voice for the Word; but the voice introduced itself in order to not interfere with the Word. “I am not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet.” So they asked him, “What are you then?” He answered: “I am the voice of one crying out in the desert” (Jn 1,23): it is the voice that breaks the silence. “Make straight the way of the Lord”, meaning: I ring so that the Lord may enter your heart; but he will not come in if you don’t prepare him the way. What does “Make straight the way” mean, if not: “Pray, as you should”? And what does “Make straight the way” mean, if not: “Have humble thoughts”? John gives you an example of humility. They take him for the Messiah and he affirms he is not what they think he is; he does not take advantage of their mistake to glory himself. If he would have said: I am the Messiah, they would have easily believed him, because they thought so, even before he spoke. He denied: he introduced himself, he defined himself, and he humbled himself. He saw where salvation was. He understood that he was only the lamp (Jn 5,35), and he feared it might be blown out by the wind of pride.

Roman Catholic Ordinary Calendar – rosary,team