Meditations for Advent 2024 - Day 19 - The Prophet of the Most High

Can we truly prepare our hearts for the coming of Christ by reflecting on the past? Join us as we explore profound Advent themes guided by John the Baptist's prophetic voice and the Virgin Mother's enduring mystery. We uncover the critical mission of John, who called for repentance and offered a path to Christ. This episode encourages us to embrace God’s mercy and strive for a life of purity and justice found in Christ, drawing inspiration from ancient prophecies by Zechariah, Isaiah, and Malachi.

The concept of consecrated virginity in Christianity may seem antiquated to some, yet it remains a powerful testament of unwavering dedication to God. We delve into the courage of early Christian virgins who upheld their faith under persecution, reflecting on the insights of Bishop Bossuet. Our discussion highlights the unique honor bestowed upon the Christian Church through the veneration of perpetual virginity and the challenges faced by some denominations in accepting the perpetual virginity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Chapters

• 0:07 Christian Meditations on Advent Themes
• 10:11 Christian Virtue of Consecrated Virginity
• 19:35 Advent Meditations Recording Announcement

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:07

Satsang with Mooji In teisper avert. Good morning everyone and welcome to the 19th day of Advent. We are doing meditations 31 and 32 out of 40. So we have less than a week until Christmas. At this point, today is Thursday and Christmas is next Wednesday, on the 25th, so we are really getting rather close.

Speaker 1: 0:56

Our two meditations today our first one is called the Prophet of the Most High. The second one is called the Virginity of the Holy Mother of God. So we will start as usual with our prayer and get into our meditations here. So let me put up an image and we will get going In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen, jesus, my Savior, true God and true man, and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen, jesus, my Savior, true God and true man and the true Christ. Promise to the patriarchs and the prophets from the beginning of the world and, in time, faithfully bestow to the holy people you have chosen, who have said by your holy and divine mouth this is eternal life, that they know thee, the only true God, jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent. Believing in these words and with the help of Thy grace, I wish to be attentive to the task of knowing God and knowing you, so do I draw as near to you as I can, with a lively faith, to know God in you and by you, and to know Him in a manner worthy of God, that is, in a manner that leads me to love and to obey him, in accord with the words of your beloved disciple. He who says I know him but disobeys his commandments as a liar as well as your very own, he who has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. To know you well, o my God and dear Savior, I wish always, with the help of your grace, to contemplate you in all that befalls you and in all of your mysteries. Meditation number 31 the Prophet of the Most High. A new child will be called the Prophet of the Most High.

Speaker 1: 2:54

Luke 1, 76, his own prophet, the Prophet par excellence, a prophet and more than a prophet. Matthew 11, 9, as the Savior himself would call him. A prophet and more than a prophet. Matthew 11.9, as the Savior himself would call him, because not only would he announce the Savior as one who is about to come, but he would point him out to the people as the one who had come, you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways. Luke 1.76. Consider how Zechariah speaks of Jesus Christ, calling him the Most High and the Lord. That is to say, in one sole verse he has twice called him God.

Speaker 1: 3:33

Here, then, is the character of the prophecy of John the Baptist, distinctly marked out by Zechariah to go before the Lord to prepare his way. And this character is taken from two ancient prophecies, one being Isaiah's. A voice cries in the wilderness Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight a highway for our God. The other was from Malachi Behold, I send my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. Thus this learned priest explains the mission of his son and his proper character by reference to the prophets. It is to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins.

Speaker 1: 4:20

Luke 1.77. This is the proper ministry of St John the Baptist, of whom St Paul said John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is Jesus. Acts 19.4. Come, then, to learn this great science which is the science of salvation. To learn this great science which is the science of salvation, let us learn that it consists chiefly in the remission of sins, a mercy of which we stand in need our entire lives. Indeed, our justice is more a question of the remission of sins than of the perfection of our virtues. He is the one who made St Paul say, following David, blessed are those whose iniquities are forgiven and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not reckon his sin. Romans 4, 7-8 and Psalm 32, 1-2. What we must understand is that not being able to be without sin, what we must understand is that not being able to be without sin, our true science is the one that teaches us to purify ourselves more and more every day by saying, with David, wash me thoroughly from my iniquity.

Speaker 1: 5:35

Psalm 51, 2. This science is in Jesus Christ, of whom it is written. By his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. Isaiah 53.11. Thus, it is in Jesus Christ that is found the true science of the remission of sins, which he has expiated by his blood, but John prepared his way to show that it would be in Jesus that our sins would be forgiven. Let us then spend our whole lives in penitence. Inasmuch as the science of our salvation consists in the remission of sins, let us not glory in a justice as imperfect as our own, for even the most perfect in this life should still fear to be overwhelmed by the multitude of his sins if he does not take care continually to expiate them by penance and almsgiving. This is the science that St John preached when he cried out in the desert, his voice echoing throughout all Judea bear fruit that befits repentance.

Speaker 1: 6:41

Matthew 3.8. Matthew 3.8. From the bowels of mercy of our God, viscera Missoria Cordia. Here alone do we find the remission of our sins. Whence it is? Zechariah continues that the day shall dawn upon us from on high. Jesus Christ is the true Orient, the true Dawn, the Son of righteousness who shall rise to give light, continues Zechariah, to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace. Although you are continually reminded about the ongoing need for the remission of sins, do not doubt that justice is infused in your hearts by Jesus Christ. He took the name of Orient or Dawn, so that he might show us that he is a light dawning for us. He was the true light that enlightens every man.

Speaker 1: 7:38

John 1.9. Just as the rising sun dissipates the shadows by spreading forth the light that fills the universe, so also the true Orient, when he comes forth from the bosom of the Father to enlighten us, remits our sins by replacing them with the light of justice by which we ourselves become light in our Lord. For, as St Paul says, once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord Ephesians 5.8. Not at all in yourselves. It is in Jesus Christ that you learn to walk always with your eyes open and to direct your gaze always toward him, by a light and right intention, from which will follow, in your whole body and your whole person, an eternal light and a luminous torch that enlightens you To guide our feet into the way of peace. O peace, my heart's desire. O Jesus, you who are my peace, you who put me at peace with God, with myself and with the whole world, and thus make peace both in heaven and on earth. When will it come to pass, o Jesus, when will it come to pass that by faith in the remission of sins, by the tranquility of my conscience, by a sweet confidence in your favor and by an entire acquiescence in your eternal will for all the events of my life. When will I possess this peace?

Speaker 1: 9:10

Meditation number 32 the Virginity of the Holy Mother of God. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet Isaiah. Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel, which means God with us. Matthew 1, 22-23. It is the glory of the Christian church. What other society has even so much as dared to claim to have for its founder the son of a virgin? So lovely a title never even occurred to the human mind. This glory was reserved for Christianity. It is also the only religion to hold perpetual virginity in honor, to consecrate it to God and to suffer all sorts of persecutions and even death for it.

Speaker 1: 10:11

Jesus Christ declared himself to be the spouse of virgins. He is the one who made known to the world these pure beings who, although previously predicted by the prophets Isaiah 56, 3-5, appeared in only the Christian religion. Jesus Christ inspired his apostles to declare that holy virginity is the only condition that can consecrate entirely to God a heart that cannot suffer division. 1. Corinthians 7, 32-35. Son of a virgin and a virgin himself, he took for his precursor John the Baptist, a virgin, and a virgin himself. He took for his precursor John the Baptist, a virgin, and for his beloved disciple, st John, also a virgin. According to Christian tradition, his apostles, who, in order to follow him, left everything behind, including their wives, were always in the company of continence.

Speaker 1: 11:12

It is no surprise that holy virginity, like the faith, has had its martyrs. The very persecutors themselves recognized the modesty of the Christian virgins. We see them, said St Ambrose, brave the instruments of torture, but shrink before their eyes Amidst torments and ferocious beasts and angry bulls that threw them into the air. They were careful of modesty, disdaining the torments of life and having bodies of iron, but tender countenances. These were worthy witnesses, worthy martyrs of the one who is at once son of God and son of a virgin. Son of God and son of a virgin. These two things should go together so that in every sense it may be said who will understand his generation? The son was chased in the bosom of the father and in the womb of his mother.

Speaker 1: 12:12

O Jesus, we believe it. Even if we cannot comprehend it, we know that there is nothing more incompatible with than impurity in the Christian religion. Raised amidst mystery so chaste, how can we suffer corruption in our bodies. Does not the very name of Jesus inspire purity in us? Can we even pronounce the name with unclean lips? Can our sentiments be anything but pure when we approach his holy body, the unique fruit of a virgin mother so pure that he was not able to endure, either in himself or in his mother, even the sanctity of the marriage bed?

Speaker 1: 13:00

Sacred ministers of the altar, you must be as pure as the sun. All you Christians, you must detest every impurity. Virgins consecrated to Jesus Christ, his dear spouses, you must be jealous for him and root out every trace of a vice that has so many secret branches. Yet if you would be virgin in both body and soul. Humiliate yourselves. Love neither the gaze nor the praise of men. Hide yourselves from yourselves like a modest virgin who, far from putting herself forward, does not even dare to look upon herself. Christian women, christian virgins in you, whose celibacy should be the honor of the church, be careful of a reputation that so greatly edifies the public.

Speaker 1: 13:49

Consider that Jesus Christ, our High Priest, among all the insults he suffered, even to the point of the accusation that he was a glutton and a drunkard Matthew 11.19, never willed that his modesty should have the least stain. They marveled that he was talking with a woman John 4.27, that he conversed with her. He acted in a manner so purified and so serious that, in spite of the wickedness of his enemies, his integrity in this regard remained beyond suspicion. Why did he will this to be the case if it were not for us? So as to make us see how carefully we must conduct ourselves, so as to avoid suspicions in a manner so delicate, in which mankind is so easily carried away, so mistrustful and so curious. And there is our meditations for today.

Speaker 1: 14:52

I love what Bishop Besway calls the fact that Christ is the son of a virgin. He calls it the glory of the Christian church. He calls it the glory of the Christian church. You know, he says, what other society has even so much as dared to claim to have for its founder the son of a virgin? You know, he? He says we are the only religion to hold perpetual virginity and honor. And isn't that the case? I mean, even even other so-called Christians don't or can't, you know, you see it all the time from Protestants. They just cannot fathom that the Blessed Virgin Mary was a perpetual virgin. And I don't understand that. Maybe it's being raised as a cradle Catholic, but to me it just um, just makes sense. Um, so, for any, any converts out there that are listening, I'd be curious to hear as to, um, as to what your stance or thoughts on it previously had been Like. I said to me, I cannot imagine the Blessed Mother as anything else other than a perpetual virgin, and it confuses me as to how Protestants can even think of that. So I'd be curious to hear that.

Speaker 1: 16:29

But Bishop Asway really, really talks about consecrated virginity. You know, throughout all this, how Christ, who was son of a virgin virgin himself, you know, his precursor, john the Baptist, was a virgin. His beloved disciple, st John, was a virgin. His apostles, the other apostles who may not have been virgins, you know, many or most, had wives. They were always continent while they were with Christ. And then we hear St Ambrose talk about the virgins, the consecrated virgins, who went to their deaths for it, largely persecuted by the Romans, persecuted by the romans. Uh, you know they braved the instruments of torture, um, that, even, even, while they were being ravaged by, uh, by torturers, by torments, ravaged by ferocious beasts and angry bulls, they were still, even at that point, careful of their modesty. How different is that that from everything in our world today, you can't go out into public and hardly find a single person careful of their modesty, even just doing average things in public. Yet alone, the consecrated versions of the past were careful of their modesty while they were being tortured and killed. And, bishop Poussoy, they were worthy witnesses, worthy martyrs of the one who was at once son of God and son of a virgin.

Speaker 1: 18:25

I just that whole concept, you know, I think Bishop Poussoway is really right to call it the glory of the Christian church, because it is. It stands in such stark contrast to our world today and I think if we are going to change our world today, we have to. That has to be the crux of it Modesty, virginity, chastity. I think that has to be the heart of a world we try to build, because I think we have seen our entire world fall apart around this issue. You know, the so-called sexual revolution of the 60s and such. It started before then, but it's left our world in shambles and if we're going to rebuild it, we have to build it upon virginity and chastity.

Speaker 1: 19:35

Anyways. So tomorrow we have two meditations, for tomorrow we have one, that is, he will be called Emmanuel, and then we have the stable and the manger of Jesus Christ, and then for Saturday and Sunday we have one a piece. Don't be surprised if I record those from somewhere other than my studio. So, for a little kind of pre-Christmas surprise, I'm taking the family to a little a couple hours away to a hotel and water park for the weekend, so I may record those from the hotel room or maybe, if I'm smart and do not procrastinate, maybe I can record those, uh, tonight or tomorrow morning, um, before we go. So we'll see, we'll find out, we'll find out together. Anyways, uh, thank you all for watching these. I hope you enjoy them, I hope they're fruitful and I hope to help you have a blessed and holy Advent in preparation for the coming of the Son of God and Son of a Virgin. So I will see you all tomorrow, thank you.