And then there was a man named John the Baptist. We all would do well not only meditating on the life of St. John the Baptist, but also talking to and asking him for his prayers so we can become, ‘greater than he.’
Remember these words of Jesus? “Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has risen no one greater than John the Baptist” (Mt 11:11).
Yet in the same breath Jesus went on to say, “Yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”
In other words, we are called to follow the example of this last and greatest of the prophets who, unlike any other Old Testament prophet, saw Jesus with his own eyes, in surrendering completely in a humble manner. In imitating him, God will not necessarily take our crosses away, but just as in the life of John the Baptist, he will help us carry them. In addition, God will use us to do great things–to be a herald of the good news of the gospel, to be an instrument of conversion of our neighbors… in short, an instrument of miracles.
As you might know, we at Catholic Social Services are involved in prison and jail ministry. Several weeks ago, at one of the local jails, a prisoner entered the small conference room where I was preparing for Mass. I asked, “Here for Mass?” He replied, “Yeah, I was in my unit pacing back and forth, back and forth, going nuts, so I figured, what the h*ll!”
I thought to myself, ‘Oh my, I have a live one….’ Then, seconds later, another man entered the conference room, knelt down and started beating his breast in prayer.
The first man said to the second in a sarcastic and somewhat mocking tone, “Hey, are you, having a heart attack?” The second man replied slightly disturbed, “No, I am trying to pray!” The first man retorted, “Ah, just giving you a little cr*p!”
At that point, I was hoping not to have a fight on my hands. The first man, after having grabbed a chair a few feet in front of the small table I was using as an altar, slouched down and crossed his arms in boredom.
Then, during my brief homily while explaining what St. John the Baptist meant when he said, “Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight” (Lk 3:4), this same man’s face became red and his eyes puffy. And during the Eucharistic prayer and consecration, he fell on his knees and joined his hands in prayer. It was evident that this man, in the depth of his misery, cracked the door of his heart open to the Lord, allowing the Holy Spirit to enter like a flood. He was on the verge of tears. After Mass he said in a respectful tone, “Father, I need to talk!”
My prayer is that you truly open your heart to the Lord and surrender completely. God will most certainly give you all the graces necessary to carry your crosses and will use you as an instrument to bring others to Him.
Please pray for the prisoner described above and for our jail and prison ministry. If you feel called to help in this most rewarding ministry, please contact me. We pray you will continue to, “Make his paths straight,” in your heart!
St. John the Baptist, pray for us!
