This year the 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time (the counted weeks of the liturgical year) gets replaced by the Feast of John the Baptist. It is such an important feast that it has its own vigil readings, so Saturday congregations will hear different Scriptures from Sunday congregations. Both Gospels, though, are about the conception and birth of John, instead of the Advent Scriptures about him — about his life in the desert where he baptizes his cousin, Jesus. The birth stories about John, like those about Jesus, show God preparing the people, or setting the stage, for the story of salvation that will follow. Our life journeys are often shaped by people who enter our lives unexpectedly, people who God seems to send us to set us on a certain path. Who have been the John the Baptists in my life, preparing the way so that I could walk confidently in the vocation God gives me?
– Blog entry by Sister Mary Garascia