“Who art thou if not the Christ, nor Elias nor Jeremiah or one of the prophets?”John made no pretense about his person and did not claim anything for himself. “Why do you baptize if you are not the Christ?” My baptism he explained is a baptism unto repentance. Then who are you and what do you have to say about yourself? John responded clearly:
“I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, make straight the path of the Lord.”
There is a great deal happening in the dialogue between John the Baptist and the pharisees. They came to him from Jerusalem because they took John seriously. John was born from a priestly family and his father Zechariah served in the temple and had witnessed a vision in that very temple. John could have claimed anything about himself and he would be believed. Instead he understood the spiritual life and desired only to promote the Christ.
The desire to put Christ first and to recognize that we are nothing without Him for we came from the dust of the earth and through His gracious will we have talents for the good of souls in this world. This is the first attitude the spiritual person must cultivate. We must desire true holiness by seeking first the person of our Lord and second we must know who we are. Our nothingness must be claimed as our greatest possession.
In the next stage of the spiritual man one must know what the will of God is for our sanctity. John proclaimed “I am a voice …” God will use his voice to prepare the way for the Word made Flesh. Through prayer and reflection in the wilderness John was convicted of his mission in this world. In the same manner we will come to know what God has given to us and why He wants us to use that gift for the good of our neighbor. Desire leads to God’s all and our nothingness, but God wishes to use our nothingness to do good in this world of ours.
From the mission comes the reward which is beyond this world and so far greater than this world. John would receive the reward of a prophet and one greater than any other man born of woman. He would be the witness to the Truth that man must follow the ways of God. In proclaiming this truth Herodias would offer John the crown of his mission. He gave his head on a platter to a woman living in sin. The sinner thought she conquered but in the end John was lifted up and crowned before the throne of God. Innocence is always condemned by a world that grasps at equality with God instead of claiming its nothingness. Today we find a contrast between the Incarnation of our Lord and the Parousia (the second coming). John proclaims that he is not Elias but Jesus says that John is Elias in spirit. Why does this conflict enter? In our Lord’s first coming He comes in humility and so His Precursor must be humble as well, hence in the spirit of Elias John the Baptist is the humble voice that calls us to repentance of our pride. The wisdom of God is manifested in the balance between John the Baptist humbly pointing out the “Lamb of God” who would go humbly and silently to the shearers.
In the second coming our Lord will come with all His power and majesty and so Elias will come before Him to announce the judgement that will come upon this world which would not gaze upon the simplicity of the Christ. This Elias will speak and the power of God will judge every soul. Truth, goodness, beauty all cry out to the substance of God’s presence. Evil, lies, pride, deceit are all parasites upon the essential sacrificial love of God Himself. In the final judgment nothing which contradicts love can remain.
Watch the battle taking place in our dear USA and the Catholic Church. Both are being attacked by lies, deceit, pride, greed, anger, sloth and all that Satan can sum up from his parasitic being. Impeachment without any substance is the new cry of the demon-crats. In the ecclesial court we now must consider sins against the environment as more damaging to the soul than living in an adulterous relationship. Same sex unions are now to be honored on a par with a true marriage. Now we have a shop full of ‘religions’ to choose from in order to honor a god like Pachamama. No longer is the Catholic Church possessing the substance from which it took its birth: “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” This testimony of St. Peter is all but rubbish to the authors of Vat. II which said that Allah, Yahweh and the Trinity are the same? What nonsense the Catholic soul has to endure in these days.
Our Catholic Church is no longer catholic but a shell of its former splendor. Our sacraments have been altered and no longer can we say that the intention is the same for all the priests. It is as if the holy Eucharist no longer possessed the body, blood, soul and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ. The accidents are present but the substance has been negated because the matter and form have been altered. Just so the Mystical Body has the external accidents but no longer does it profess the teachings of our Lord.
Bishops are tongue-tied; priests are intimidated; and the Pope dictates the new creed for a global dominion. The Masonic fraternal union is about to be established for the peace that man thinks he can attain without the obedience to the Holy Trinity. This new church denies the right of God to dictate and tell it that we must consecrate Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Only when this is done will divine peace descend upon this world of ours. Make no mistake only the humble will survive and they will be marked by the holy love of the rosary and our dear Mother Mary, ever a virgin. May all who read these words prepare their hearts and their homes for the true chastisement to come.
In the hearts of Jesus, Mary and Joseph,
Fr. Richard Voigt
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