Saturday, January 09, 2010

The example of St. John the Baptist

Father Michell Joe Zerrudo on his blog, Sense of the Sacred, made a relevant relation between the priest and St. John the Baptist: The priest should never keep attention to himself, he should, like St. John the Baptist, directs all attention to the Bridesgroom, the Christ..."He must increase; I must decrease!"

By following the example of St. John the Baptist, the priest truly becomes Alter Christus in the Liturgy. The priest by not allowing his personality, ad libitum, to interfere (decrease), draws and directs all attention to the Action of Christ (increase) by following faithfully the words and actions prescribed in the Liturgy. It is therefore necessary that we, the congregation, together with the priests regain consciousness that Liturgy is a sacred and precious gift we have received and not something that we create, it is an act of prayer and not of entertainment.


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