Nativity of Saint John the Baptist - June 24 - "Prepare ye the way of the Lord"

From Luke 3:3-6 [1]:

3 And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins;

4 As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

5 Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth;

6 And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.

From Isaiah 40:3-5 [2]:

 3 The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

4 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:

5 And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.

"Christians have interpreted the life of John the Baptist as a preparation for the coming of Jesus Christ." [3]

How to prepare?

From Douay-Rheims Bible [4] :

And in those days cometh John the Baptist preaching in the desert of Judea. And saying: Do penance: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. [Emphasis  original.]

 "Do penance": Paenitentiam agite. Which word, according to the use of the scriptures and the holy fathers, does not only signify repentance and amendment of life, but also punishing past sins by fasting, and such like penitential exercises. [Emphasis  original.]

From Biblegateway [5]:

In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea  and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

Often many people are too obsessed with themselves, with what they want from life that is only temporal to spend even a few moments to perform periodic examinations of conscience let alone going through the necessary contrition, repentance and conversion to better prepare themselves for an eternity in Heaven.


[1] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah+40%3A3-5%2CLuke+3%3A3-6&version=KJV
There is a song from Godspell - Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord  from the 1970's on YouTube:
1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSIs1MHdFQY (the movie version);
2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuUl522_8jQ (the Broadway musical version).
[2] Ibid.
[3] http://www.newmanconnection.com/faith/saint/nativity-of-saint-john-the-baptist
[4] http://www.drbo.org/chapter/47003.htm, quoted without references.
[5] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+3%3A1-2&version=NIV, quoted without references.