When the time arrived for Elizabeth to have her child
she gave birth to a son.
Her neighbors and relatives heard
that the Lord had shown his great mercy toward her,
and they rejoiced with her.
When they came on the eighth day to circumcise the child,
they were going to call him Zechariah after his father,
but his mother said in reply,
“No. He will be called John.”
But they answered her,
“There is no one among your relatives who has this name.”
So they made signs, asking his father what he wished him to be called.
He asked for a tablet and wrote, “John is his name,”
and all were amazed.
Immediately his mouth was opened, his tongue freed,
and he spoke blessing God.
Then fear came upon all their neighbors,
and all these matters were discussed
throughout the hill country of Judea.
All who heard these things took them to heart, saying,
“What, then, will this child be?
For surely the hand of the Lord was with him.” Lk 1:57-66
Our names are very special to us. Our parents usually spent months thinking about the right name for us. Many Catholic parents looked up the meaning of the name and wondered if it had belonged to anyone important in Scripture. Today, Zechariah and Elizabeth name their son John, which means “Yahweh is gracious”. Don’t forget Elizabeth was barren, Zechariah had an angel visit him and he doubted God, and the Scriptures revealed to us, “with God anything is possible”. No matter how much doubt we can muster, selfishness, greed, sin, hopelessness, or to feel like we are in the depths of hell and life just can’t get any worse (especially suffering from a physical or mental illness), God’s grace and love always prevail. Our mouth is opened, our tongue’s freed, and we speak blessing God for His graciousness.
Today’s challenge: Look up what your name means. Reflect on how God’s grace has influenced your life. Take God’s Word to heart-it is the only thing that will never pass away!
We are saints in training. Become a saint!
Christian YOLO
“Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future.” -St. Augustine
“Work as if everything depended on you, pray as if everything depended on God.” -St. Augustine
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