|  JOHN THE BAPTIST December 16
Symbols: Shell
The shell with three water drops is a symbol of baptism generally, and particularly of the baptism of Christ. The three droplets remind us of the Trinity — Father, Son and Holy Spirit — into which Christians are baptized. The shell alone may also be used as a symbol for pilgrimage, and is often used as an emblem for saints known for their travels or whose shrines have become destinations for pilgrims.
Recommended Readings: Matthew 3:1-12
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Monastic Office of Vigils,
FIRST READING
From the book of the prophet Isaiah
30:18-26
SECOND READING
From a discourse On the Contemplation of God by William of Saint Thierry, abbot
(Nn. 9-11; SC 61, 90-96)
He loved us first
| Second Reading |
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| A discourse "On the Contemplation of God" by William of Saint-Thierry |
| He loved us first |
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Truly you alone are the Lord. Your dominion is our salvation, for to serve you is nothing else but to be saved by you!
O Lord, salvation is your gift and your blessing is upon your people; what else is your salvation but receiving from you the gift of loving you or being loved by you?
That, Lord, is why you willed that the Son at your right hand, the man whom you made strong for yourself, should be called Jesus, that is to say, Saviour, for he will save his people from their sins, and there is no other in whom there is salvation. He taught us to love him by first loving us, even to death on the cross. By loving us and holding us so dear, he stirred us to love him who had first loved us to the end.
And this is clearly the reason: you first loved us so that we might love you – not because you needed our love, but because we could not be what you created us to be, except by loving you.
In many ways and on various occasions you spoke to our fathers through the prophets. Now in these last days you have spoken to us in the Son, your Word; by him the heavens were established and all their powers came to be by the breath of his mouth.
For you to speak thus in your Son was to bring out in the light of day how much and in what way you loved us, for you did not spare your own Son but delivered him up for us all. He also loved us and gave himself up for us.
This, Lord, is your Word to us, this is your all-powerful message: while all things were in midnight silence (that is, were in the depths of error), he came from his royal throne, the stern conqueror of error and the gentle apostle of love.
Everything he did and everything he said on earth, even enduring the insults, the spitting, the buffetting – the cross and the grave – all of this was actually you speaking to us in your Son, appealing to us by your love and stirring up our love for you.
You know that this disposition could not be forced on men’s hearts, my God, since you created them; it must rather be elicited. And this, for the further reason that there is no freedom where there is compulsion, and where freedom is lacking, so too is righteousness.
You wanted us to love you, then, we who could not with justice have been saved had we not loved you, nor could we have loved you except by your gift. So, Lord, as the apostle of your love tells us, and as we have already said, you first loved us: you are first to love all those who love you.
Thus we hold you dear by the affection you have implanted in us. You are the one supremely good and ultimate goodness. Your love is your goodness, the Holy Spirit proceeding from the Father and the Son! From the beginning of creation it was he who hovered over the waters – that is, over the wavering minds of men – offering himself to all, drawing all things to himself. By his inspiration and holy breath, by keeping us from harm and providing for our needs, he unites God to us and us to God.
iBreviary translation.
Alternative; Monastic Lectionary for the Divine Office Edited by Friends of Ashworth 1981.
Alternative; Monastic Lectionary for the Divine Office Edited by Friends of Ashworth 1981.
Note:The Greek Fathers conceived of salvation as the restoration of the integrity in which the human race was originally created. This is the work of the Holy Trinity in ans through the incarnation. Williamof Saint Thierry reflects on this work of salvation. It is because of his love for us that God sent his Son. Our Lord showed how much he loved us by his passion and death to inspire us to love him in return. The Holy Spirit penetrates and transforms our hearts, and restore in us the image of the Son.
Responsory
My love for you will never leave you, and my covenant of peace with you will never be shaken. Your sons will all be taught by the Lord; the prosperity of your sons will be great.
I, the Lord your God, teach you what is good for you, I lead you in the way that you must go. Your sons will all be taught by the Lord; the prosperity of your sons will be great.
Let us pray.
In your love, Father, listen to our prayer:
may your Son at his coming
dispel by his grace the darkness of our hearts.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
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