06.25.2007 John the Baptist

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=220 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <IMG SRC="13eb8750.jpg" border=0 width="184" height="117" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <B>"We, who have received the love of Christ through the Spirit must not contain it..."</B></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Volunteer Missionary Movement (VMMUSA)"><U>Home Page</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id51.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Tuesdays Reflection"><U>Tuesdays Reflection</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Mission Statement"><U>Mission Statement</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id215.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Vision Statement"><U>Vision Statement</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id25.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Ways You Can Help Us"><U>Ways You Can Help Us</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id3.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="All About VMM"><U>All About VMM</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id4.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Application Qualifications"><U>Application Qualifications</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id29.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Discernment Process"><U>Discernment Process</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="application.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Application Form"><U>Application Form</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id5.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Related Links"><U>Related Links</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id24.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Bridges Newsletter"><U>Bridges Newsletter</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id33.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Letters from the Missions"><U>Letters from the Missions</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id16.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Adobe Printing Instructions"><U>Adobe Printing Instructions</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id6.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Contact Us"><U>Contact Us</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.guidestar.org/partners/networkforgood/donate.jsp?ein=36-3153581" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.guidestar.org/partners/networ"><U><IMG SRC="1887e300.gif" border=0 width="126" height="48" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> <bR> <div>  <form method="get" action="http://search.atomz.com/search/"> <input size=15 name="sp-q"><br> <input type=submit value="Search"> <input type=hidden name="sp-a" value="sp10020180"> <input type=hidden name="sp-f" value="iso-8859-1"> </form></div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Arial" ><I><B>Volunteer Missionary Movement (VMM-USA)</B></I></FONT>    |     <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Volunteer Missionary Movement (VMMUSA)"><U>home</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <B>06.25.2007       John the Baptist                </B><A HREF="id51.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Tuesdays Reflection"><U><B>Tuesdays Reflection</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> This Sunday was a rather special day. The birth of John the Baptist </div> <div> fell on a Sunday. No one actually knows when John the Baptist was </div> <div> born but June 24 is near the summer solstice when the days begin to </div> <div> wane. The prophet wanes before the Messiah whose birthday is December </div> <div> 25 when the days begin to lengthen. John the Baptist is the first </div> <div> patron saint of Canada. He has remained the patron saint of Quebec </div> <div> and of all Franco-Canadians. Because of this, the readings of the </div> <div> regular Sunday gave way to the Solemnity of St. John the Baptist in </div> <div> all catholic churches in Canada.</div> <bR> <div> John was a prophet. Today prophets are more important than ever. Our </div> <div> baptism calls us to be a prophetic sign of God's love in the </div> <div> 'wilderness' of modern society, to be the light for the world. That </div> <div> call is for humble service to others, to make the world a better </div> <div> place, to champion the qualities of truth and love, to shine as a </div> <div> conscience for the world, to proclaim the power of love, peace and </div> <div> freedom. It's not easy to be a voice crying out in the wilderness. </div> <div> It's challenging to have a passion for peace, to promote love for </div> <div> brother and sister, to proclaim equality for all and urge </div> <div> reconciliation between neighbors. That is our call - to be prophets.</div> <bR> <div> The readings for this day are beautiful: Isaiah 49:1-6; Psalm 139; </div> <div> Acts 13:22-26; Luke 1:57-66, 80. If you have time this first chapter </div> <div> of Luke has two of the songs used in the office or prayers of the </div> <div> church, the Magnifical and the Benedictus. When Dawn and I were in </div> <div> Guatemala, we would take a few days of R & R in Coban and stay at the </div> <div> monastery of the Benedictine sisters and grew to love the morning and </div> <div> evening prayers sung or chanted together.</div> <bR> <div> Cecily</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>