Thursday, December 19 : Origen

John’s birth is full of the miraculous. An archangel announced the coming of our Lord and Savior and, in the same way, an archangel announces the birth of John. “He will be filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother’s womb”. The people did not recognize our Lord, who was accomplishing “great signs and miracles” and healing their sick, yet John leaps for joy while still in his mother’s womb. He cannot be restrained when Jesus’ mother comes along and tries to go out to meet him. “The moment your greeting reached my ears,” says Elizabeth, “the child in my womb leaped for joy” (Lk 1:44). While yet in his mother’s womb John had already received the Holy Spirit . . . Afterwards, Scripture says: “he will bring a great number of the children of Israel back to the Lord their God”. John will bring back “a great number” but the Lord will bring back, not just a great number but all of them! Indeed, it was his great work to bring the whole world back to God the Father. “And he will walk go before him in the presence of the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah . . . There was power and spirit in Elijah, as in all the prophets . . . The spirit that rested on Elijah came upon John, and the power that inhabited Elijah was manifested in him. The former was lifted up to heaven (2Kgs 2:11) but the latter went before the Lord and died before he did that he might descend to the realm of the dead to announce his coming.

Roman Catholic Ordinary Calendar – rosary,team