June 24, 2026 The Nativity of Saint John the Baptist Gospel: Luke 1:57–66, 80
Today the Church celebrates the feast of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist. The passage from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Luke proclaims to us the mystery of John’s birth. I take this opportunity to offer some reflections.
In daily life, when a neighbor or a relative welcome a newborn child, we hasten to congratulate them and share in their joy. So too, when a child was born to Zechariah’s household, his neighbors and relatives would naturally have rejoiced with them. At that time, they intended to circumcise the child according to the command God gave to Abraham (cf. Genesis 17:23–27), so that the boy might belong to Israel. They acted thus because they did not yet understand the mission John the Baptist was to fulfill.
But Elizabeth and Zechariah unanimously declared to their neighbors and relatives, “His name is John.” This name had been revealed to Zechariah by the angel Gabriel (cf. Luke 1:12–13). The name John means: “God bestows grace,” manifesting His mercy and revealing His gracious favor. Elizabeth and Zechariah acted as they did because they had already experienced the love God showed them—a love that transformed their lives. No longer did they live according to the patterns of the old covenant alone; now they dwelt in God’s own world, which is to say, in the very love of God.
Today, we rejoice at the birth of John the Baptist, for his coming signifies that the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ is near. Therefore, let us lift up our hearts in faith and offer our prayer to God:
O God, who raised up Saint John the Baptist to make ready a nation fit for Christ the Lord, give your people, we pray, the grace of spiritual joys and direct the hearts of all the faithful into the way of salvation and peace. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.
June 23, 2026 Evening: Vigil Mass for the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist Gospel: Luke 1:5–17
Today is Tuesday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time. According to the tradition of the Church, the Vigil Mass for the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist is celebrated this evening. For pastoral reasons, we continue this year to provide reflections for both Masses. The Gospel for the Vigil Mass of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist is taken from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Luke.
At the opening of the Gospel, Saint Luke introduces us to John’s parents: Zechariah, a priest of God, and Elizabeth, a descendant of Aaron. In the time of Moses, Aaron was consecrated as priest (Exodus 28:1–5); yet even such holy spouses were childless. In Jewish society during Zechariah’s time, barrenness or the absence of children was commonly regarded as a punishment from the Lord. But in the eyes of God, this was part of His divine plan. Why so? Because it is precisely in the lives of women once deemed barren that God manifests His wondrous power. Consider the mother of Samson, the wife of Manoah of the tribe of Dan: through her, God raised up Samson to deliver Israel from the Philistines (cf. Judges 13–16). And consider most blessedly the Virgin Mary: though she had no relations with Joseph, through her obedient surrender to the divine will, she miraculously conceived and gave birth to the Savior of humanity, making visible the invisible God.
Today, the words spoken by the angel to Zechariah are filled with profound consolation. He said: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall name him John” (cf. Luke 1:13). The name John is singularly significant: it does not come from Zechariah’s ancestry, but is given by the angel. This signifies that from the very moment of his conception in Elizabeth’s womb, John is destined for a unique mission. He will await the visit of the Blessed Virgin Mary, draw comfort from the words spoken by the Savior Jesus Christ through His Mother’s greeting, rejoice with exultant gladness at the presence of the Redeemer, and later, nourished by locusts and wild honey, prepare a holy people for the Messiah of God—a people ready to enter the Kingdom proclaimed by Jesus. Therefore, on this most sacred night, let us raise our prayer to God:
Grant, we pray, almighty God, that your family may walk in the way of salvation and, attentive to what Saint John the Precursor urged, may come safely to the One he foretold, our Lord Jesus Christ. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.
June 23, 2026 Mass during Day: Tuesday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time Gospel: Matthew 7:6, 12–14
Today is Tuesday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time. According to the tradition of the Church, the Vigil Mass for the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist will be celebrated this evening. For pastoral reasons, we continue this year to provide reflections for both of these Masses. At the Mass celebrated during the daytime for the Tuesday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time, the Gospel text is taken from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew. Jesus continues His Sermon on the Mount.
We constantly make demands, based on the needs of daily living, upon our fellow human beings—each one created, like ourselves, in the image and likeness of God. From the moment we left our mother’s womb, we have asked our parents for food, so that we might survive in this fleeting world. When we came to school, we asked our teachers to impart, according to their knowledge of worldly things, the skills necessary for getting by in life. When we set out on a journey, we also ask those who provide travel services to offer us comfort along the way. For in our eyes, it seems entirely right to make such demands from them. And when they do not satisfy our various needs as we had hoped, we fly into a rage. For we have grown accustomed to being self-centered, accustomed to having everything done for us and every want supplied without effort. Because what we pursue is the ease of this present life, we are unwilling to embrace the counsel for life that Jesus Christ proposes to us.
Our Lord Jesus Christ calls all who would enter the Kingdom of Heaven to go through the narrow gate. This means setting down at that narrow gate whatever makes us physically bloated or inwardly swollen—that we may travel light, pass through the narrow gate, and follow the path that leads to the life Jesus bestows.
Beloved brothers and sisters in the Lord! Since we have received Baptism and the anointing of the Holy Spirit, becoming children of God, we need not be anxious about all that is needed in this present life. For such concerns belong to the children of this world, whose way is the broad road that leads to destruction. They follow their flesh and the evil that wells up from their hearts. But we have been born again in Christ through water and the Holy Spirit. Whenever we follow the leading of the Holy Spirit and, by the power of that same Spirit, put to death the rash impulses of the flesh, we shall truly live forever, for we are children of God (cf. Romans 8:13–14). Although in this life we must inevitably undergo painful trials and testing temptations, yet all these things serve to strengthen our faith and produce within us the lasting fruits of the Holy Spirit. Thus we become able to discern the voice of God in our lives and to respond with conduct worthy of our vocation.
Grant, O Lord, that we may always revere and love your holy name, for you never deprive of your guidance those you set firm on the foundation of your love. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,God, for ever and ever
全属于祢 
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