near the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit hail Mary full of grace
the Lord is with thee blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit
of thy womb Jesus our Lady Queen of Prophets st. Joseph our patron saints
and guardian angels we have in the gospel today st. John the Baptist making
clear to his audience that he recognized who he is as John the Baptist and who
the Lord is when he clearly points out Jesus to all those around him behold the
Lamb of God st. John the Baptist
if he were a hunting dog would be quite a good hunting dog or a pointer you know
human the pointer sees its prey it points it out it recognized it and
indicates there's where you should look and st. John the Baptist being the
precursor of the Lord was excellent in his job he's recognized but the
indications that God gave him said you will see the spirit descend upon him
whom you should proclaim and
Christ is the Messiah and he saw those signs and he indicates very clearly to
his audience who Jesus is where they can find him and I think that st. John the
Baptist is an excellent example for us today as Catholics because we are all
called to be prophets like John the Baptist by our baptism and one of the
things that we're supposed to be able to do is to point out Jesus to those around
us we're supposed to be able to help our neighbors
Jesus in the midst of this world today we're supposed to point him out to them
and one of the ways in which we can point Jesus out to them is anytime we
recognize the truth when we point out the truth whether it be any truth
natural truth because our Lord said I am the way the truth and the life so when
we uphold the sanctity of marriage and the fact that marriage long before it's
even a sacrament is a natural union a natural sacrament and natural truth we
are pointing Jesus out to them in one sense we're pointing we're leading them
to the light or when we say that contraception is an intrinsic evil we
are pointing out the truth we are directing people eventually to come to
Jesus because and to me point out that anything it may be because even Cardinal
Burke in a
speech he gave some time ago said that the first magisterium you might say of
the church is to point out the natural truth the natural law that is written in
every man's heart before we even get to the supernatural you know that Jesus is
born of the Virgin before we even get to that we can point out to very clearly in
our society today anything that is true objective truth natural law is going to
lead people
people eventually to Jesus. And when a society isn't recognizing and even scoffs that natural
law, it's going to have a hard time finding Jesus. It's going to have a hard time making a go of it
because you're living in the darkness. And the whole point that Jesus came was that those in
the darkness have seen a great light. And Saint John the Baptist saw Jesus. He was given graces
to be able to recognize him. And at a certain point, he finally points him out to those around
him, to even his own disciples. John was not interested in having camp followers. He was not
interested in having all these people follow him. He was only there to serve, as he said,
I am the best man.
The bridegroom is here. Go. Go with him. And that is what he did. And he pointed him out. And
many of his disciples became some of the first apostles, disciples of our Lord. John and James
and Peter and Andrew, I believe, were even all followers of John the Baptist. They listened to
him. They heard him speak. And they said, there's something about this man that is holy and good.
And we should follow him. But at a certain point, Saint John said, no, I'm just the voice. Here is
the one you want to see and follow. And they did. They listened to him. So that, I think, is what,
as Catholics today, we need to take a page from Saint John the Baptist. And we need to be clear,
not wishy-washy, not ambiguous about what we're saying, especially those who are in public
service and in the public platform.
Have to be clear about what we mean when we speak about the Catholic faith. And not be confusing
others and being sometimes stupid and saying that, oh, you know, like thinking that somehow
homosexuality is in the genes. That's not even scientific. And obviously, God would not condemn
somebody who was born that way. But obviously, our Lord has
shown us very clearly that homosexuality is not something that you're born that way. You're
formed that way because of some defective formation in your own background. But today,
people are being indoctrinated into it by the lies and the falsehoods that are being out there
portrayed. And they're indoctrinating young people into this falsehood and letting them
think that this is a good thing. And so,
if we just point out the simple, basic truths of natural law, we have already
put people light years ahead of many other people who are still living in confusion.
And we need to be clear about what we're saying. When we say, behold the Lamb,
when we say, this is the truth, and when we say, this is the church is teaching,
then we have to make sure we have it clear. There's so many people today,
especially people who have in their
time and in their life, they're not going to be able to say, oh, this is the truth.
They're not going to be able to say, oh, this is the truth. They're not going to be able to say,
this is the truth. They're not going to be able to say, oh, this is the truth.
There are other people who are being titled Catholic associations who aren't being Catholic,
who are misleading people. And somehow they're not the official spokesmen for the church
because they don't give the teaching of the church. They give what they think or their
poor interpretation of the teaching of the church. And we need to be clear in our teaching and in
what we repeat. We repeat what is the teaching of the church. And the first magisterium of the church
is the teaching of the church. So, we need to be clear about what we're saying. And we need to
the truth as it's found in natural law,
or just basic, you might say, reality.
The church doesn't have to pronounce a magisterial statement
that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west.
That's the first magisterium is obvious reality.
If someone has vital signs in their living,
they're not dead.
The church doesn't have to make a pronouncement
on basic reality, basic, you might say, scientific fact
about what is alive and what is dead.
I mean, as some have said, a seven-year-old
can tell the difference between a living and a dead person.
You don't have to have a lot of science to figure that out.
But basic common sense and basic reality
is already part of the magisterium of the church.
The church doesn't have to give an official statement on it.
It's just there, staring you in the face.
And that is what is so sad today
about many who have the opportunity to enlighten others
instead confuse them even more.
And we need to be able to speak clearly
about the natural truths, the natural law
written in our hearts, as well as the supernatural truths.
Well, what does the church mean when it teaches
about the virgin birth, our virgin birth,
or the,
the perpetual virginity of Our Lady?
We have to be clear when we repeat
that the church teaches, you know,
that Our Lady is a virgin before, during,
and after the birth of Christ, and all these things.
And St. John is today to be held up to us
as a clear teacher, as a clear prophet,
a voice that speaks clearly what is the truth
and points it out to others.
Then St. John realizes
that after I've pointed it out,
God has to do the rest.
I can only lead them to the truth.
And whether they want to drink from that fountain of truth,
that in a certain point becomes a choice they have to make.
But we still have to continue to preach clearly
the way to Jesus.
And that's what the church does in an official capacity.
And that's what the church ought to do and still do.
And that's what we as faithful members of the church
need to do, is to point out clearly Jesus
and where they can find him today.
Let us ask St. John the Baptist.
And let us ask our Lady as Queen of the prophets
to help us to be clear,
speak, clear prophets,
to be voices that are not wishy-washy or ambiguous.
But that when people hear us speak about the Catholic faith
they're about Jesus.
that they understand clearly where we're coming from
and where we're going.
In the name of the Father and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit, amen.
Amen.