Monday, June 24 : Saint Augustine

Zachary fell silent and lost the power of speech until John, the Lord’s precursor, was born and restored his speech. Is Zachary’s silence a hidden prophecy, kept secret and, as it were, pent up before Christ could be proclaimed? His speech was restored at John’s birth, his voice was made clear when he came as had been foretold. The restoration of Zachary’s power of speech is like the rending of the veil of the temple when Christ was crucified (Mt 27,51). If John proclaimed himself, he could not have restored his father’s speech. Zachary’s tongue was loosened because a voice was born. When John was announcing our Lord’s coming he was asked: “Who are you?” He replied: “I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness.” John was a ‘voice’, but in the beginning the Lord was the Word. John was a voice for a time: but Christ, who in the beginning was the Word, is the Word in eternity.

Roman Catholic Ordinary Calendar – rosary,team