On June 24th, the Church celebrates the birth of St. John the Baptist, the greatest of all the Old Testament saints. John came to prepare the way for Our Lord. He gave the same call to penance as Our Lord, he identified Our Lord, and was despised, as was Our Lord. To this day, St. John remains a "sign of contradiction," no more so than in Novus Ordo circles.
Recall the glory of St. John, as recorded by St. Matthew, Ch. 3:
1 And in those days cometh John the Baptist preaching in the desert of Judea. 2 And saying: Do penance: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. 3 For this is he that was spoken of by Isaiah the prophet, saying: A voice of one crying in the desert, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.
4 And the same John had his garment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins: and his meat was locusts and wild honey. 5 Then went out to him Jerusalem and all Judea, and all the country about Jordan: 6 And were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.
7 And seeing many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them: Ye brood of vipers, who hath showed you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bring forth therefore fruit worthy of penance. 9 And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham for our father. For I tell you that God is able of these stones to raise up children to Abraham. 10 For now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that doth not yield good fruit, shall be cut down, and cast into the fire.
11 I indeed baptize you in water unto penance, but he that shall come after me, is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you in the Holy Ghost and fire. 12 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his floor and gather his wheat into the barn; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.
Despite the great reverence for St. John in Tradition, moderns tend to diminish his greatness and importance. Two examples of this I heard in homilies at a Traditional Mass, no less, offered by priests who were trained in the new theology. One priest said, on June 24th one year, "St. John the Baptist got it wrong," referring to his message of a wrath to come. Another priest, during Advent, actually accused St. John of having "a problem," by which he meant a psychological problem along with weakness of faith. (I walked out.) Needless to say, this was stunning to hear during a Latin Mass. But it points to a grave deficiency in the new theology.
Here is a list of reasons why, I think, moderns tend to denigrate the glorious St. John. Readers are welcome to expand the list.
- St. John is a vivid reminder of the Doctrine of Original Sin. The new theology does not admit Original Sin.
- St. John, by his name of the Baptist, is a reminder that baptism is absolutely necessary for salvation. Moderns deny this, along with Original Sin.
- St. John spoke of "unquenchable fire" (above), implying that God condemns some persons to Hell. The new theology teaches universal salvation, e.g., the Origenism of von Balthazar.
- St. John represents Israel of the Old Covenant, never himself entering into the "promised land" of the Kingdom of Heaven (Matt. 11:11). He boldly preaches the new dispensation of Christ as the only means to avoid condemnation. Moderns believe, however, that Jews can be saved under the old dispensation.
- St. John lived a very austere life, demonstrating the penance he preached. The new theology has relegated the Sacrament of Penance to the dustbin.
- St. John told Herod it was wrong to take his brother's wife, and paid with his life for saying so. Vatican II teaches a separation of Church and State, whereby bishops now tolerate baby killers in high offices.
St. John the Baptist, pray for us!
Don't forget the fact that in recent times, St. John the Baptist has been "displaced", as it were, by the cultus of St. Joseph. Until 1962 the rubrics of the Traditional Mass -- as embodied in the calendar, the pre-1962 Missal Mass texts and in the judgments of the Sacred Congregation of Rites -- made it clear that St. John the Baptist had precedence over St. Joseph; today St. Joseph is clearly "in second place" to the Blessed Virgin while St. John the Baptist has been relegated to a lower place than has been traditionally given to him.
Now, I am aware of the supreme dignity of St. Joseph, but I am disturbed by this innovation all the same.
Thanks Carlos. Interesting observation. This goes along with removing St. John the Baptist from the confiteor in the novel Mass, as well as eliminating the Last Gospel which mentions St. John.