Greeting (See the
First Reading of the Vigil)
Do not be afraid to speak, says the Lord, for I am with you
to protect you. I am putting my words
into your mouth. Say whatever I command
you. May the Lord speak through us and
be always be with you. R/ And also with you.
Introduction
As artists have pictured John the Baptist, there are two
symbols that typify him very much. One is a mouth that shouts. It is the voice
crying in the wilderness, calling people to conversion. It is a voice that
could not be silenced, scolding the religious leaders, as well as the common
folk, and urging people to change their ways. Without fear he even faces King
Herod and tells him to stop his adultery. He paid dearly for it, for it will
cost him his head. Then, he is the finger pointing to the coming Messiah, and
here too he paid dearly, for his own disciples deserted him to follow Jesus.
Still he went ahead: the one he announced must become greater, he John, only
smaller. Yes, he was a great man. “The greatest prophet,” says Jesus.
Penitential Act
Christ still needs to be announced today. Do we make him visible in our lives? Are our ways leading to Christ? Let us examine ourselves. (pause) Lord, the world today – and that
includes us – is still in need of conversion.
But we lack the courage to change for the better: Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy. Jesus Christ, we need to reflect on our
Christian vocation, but we are afraid of the silence needed to listen to your
challenging Word: Christ, have mercy. R/
Christ, have mercy. Lord, we need
prophets to speak in your name, but we silence or ridicule them when they point
out our own inconsistencies: Lord, have
mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy. Have mercy
on us, Lord, convert us, let us be people who prepare the way for you, and when
we have borne our witness, help us to fade away to make room for you. Lead us to everlasting life. R/ Amen.
Opening Prayer
Let us pray to God that we may prepare the way of the Lord (pause)
Merciful God, we celebrate today with joy the birth of John the Baptist, your
prophet who announced a new era and prepared the way for your Son. Help us to proclaim the message of Jesus in the
new language our time demands. Give us
the courage to leave our old ways and to
open resolutely to today’s people the
new road to the future which you offer us
in Jesus Christ, your Son and our Lord,
who lives with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. R/ Amen.
Commentary
John the Baptist is like a first draft for Jesus. They were
alike in some ways: they were cousins, almost the same age; both came from the
desert, urging people to a different way of life; both announced that events
were coming to a head. Jesus had called John the greatest man that ever lived
(Lk 7:28), and had queued up with the crowds to be baptized by him. Yet they
were different.
Despite all his fire, John’s message in the end was rather
conventional. “Tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him,
‘Teacher, what should we do?’ He said to them, ‘Collect no more than the amount
prescribed for you.’ Soldiers also asked him, ‘And we, what should we do?’ He
said to them, ‘Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation,
and be satisfied with your wages.’” (Lk 3:12-14).
He was, you might say, a moralist. Though there are still
disciples of John the Baptist in Israel, the impact of Jesus on history has
been infinitely greater.
Jesus is more than a moralist. If he were only a moralist,
he would be a very poor one, for his claims exceeded those of any moralist. He
claimed that he and the Father were one. Any mere moralist making such a claim
would not be credible for a moment. We sometimes reduce him to a moralist. But
he alone was able to say, “The Kingdom (the Presence) of God is among you.”
This is much more powerful than all the moralism in the world. An ounce of “is”
is better than a ton of “ought”.
Intercessions
Let us pray to God our Father, who has placed guides on our
road leading us home, and let us say:
R/ Lord, lead us to you.
– For the Church of Jesus Christ, that the Spirit of Christ
may inspire our leaders with prophetic zeal to lead our people to true
Christian freedom, let us pray:
R/ Lord, lead us to you.
– For those whose task is to guide, such as missionaries,
priests, sisters, educators in the faith and leaders of nations, that in these often-discouraging
times they may continue hoping in God’s strength, let us pray:
R/ Lord, lead us to you.
– For those who do not yet know Christ, that there may be
teachers and prophets who level for them the way to the Lord, let us pray:
R/ Lord, lead us to you.
– For the world of today, that it may not turn a deaf ear to
the voices of the prophets who plead for peace and justice for all, let us
pray:
R/ Lord, lead us to you.
– For all of us here, that Christ may not be among us as
someone we do not know, but that he may become recognizable in the humility of
our weakness and poverty, let us pray:
R/ Lord, lead us to you.
God, you know us as we are. You have formed and called us
even before we were born. May we serve you in all humility and prepare the way
for the deeper coming of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
Prayer over the Gifts
Our God and Father,
you gave to John the Baptist the eyes of faith
needed to recognize and point out Jesus
as the long-promised Savior.
Help us to recognize your Son
in these humble signs of bread and wine.
May Jesus become greater in us
and we smaller,
that he may become visible in us
and that in this way we may build roads
that lead to you, our living God.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
Introduction to the Eucharistic Prayer
On John the Baptist’s feast we remember how he pointed out
to people the way to Jesus the Lord. Now we rejoice that Jesus our Lord is here
with us, his people.
Introduction to the Lord’s Prayer
We too have been chosen by the Father
even before we were born.
We pray to him the prayer of his children,
as given us by Jesus, his beloved Son: R/ Our Father ...
Deliver Us
Deliver us, Lord, from every evil
and liberate us from our pride that keeps us
from showing the true face of your Son.
Make your Church attentive
to the voice of your Spirit
speaking through prophets in our day;
make us attentive to the signs of the times
and to the needs and aspirations of people.
Help us to prepare with joy and hope
for the full coming among us
of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. R/ For the kingdom ....
Invitation to
Communion
This is Jesus, the Savior,
announced by John the Baptist
as the Lamb of God
who takes away the sin of the world.
Happy are we to be invited
to the table of the Lord. R/ Lord, I am not worthy ....
Prayer after
Communion
Lord our God,
your Son has been with us again
and yet he is not fully recognizable
in our words and in our very being.
Change our hearts,
place on our lips words of faith and courage
and let our deeds speak without fear
the language of the gospel of Jesus Christ,
your Son and our Lord for ever. R/ Amen.
Blessing
Even before we were born
every one of us has been called by God
to be saved by Christ.
Every one of us is called today
to prepare the way of the Lord
for the people we meet.
Every one of us is called today
to point out the presence of Jesus the Lord,
by the way we live his gospel.
May God bless you for this task:
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. R/ Amen.
Go in peace and bear witness
to the Good News of the Lord. R/ Thanks be to God.
