[Rank]
Quarta die infra Octavam Nativitatis S. Joannis Baptistae;;Semiduplex;;2;;vide Sancti/06-24

[Rule]
vide sancti/06-24
9 lectiones

[Lectio4]
From the Sermons of St Basil the Great, Archbishop of Caesarea-in-Pontus.
!Hom ii. Ps. xxviii.)
The voice of the Lord is upon the waters. What voice is this What are these~
waters Let us take that which is here said as a prophecy. Thou rememberest how~
that this is the record of John, when the Jews (sent Priests and Levites from~
Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou And he confessed and denied not, but~
confessed, I am not the Christ. And they asked him, What then Art thou Elias~
And he saith, I am not. Art thou that Prophet? And he answered, No. Then said~
they unto him, Who art thou that we may give an answer to them that sent us.~
(What sayest thou of thyself?) He said, I am the voice of one crying in the~
wilderness. (John i. 19-23; Isa. xl. 3, 4.) Therefore, John is the voice of the~
Lord. This is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send My messenger before thy~
face (Luke vii. 27) to make ready a people prepared for the Lord (i. 17.) This~
voice upon the waters was heard upon those of Jordan, wherein he baptized,~
preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins (iii. 3.) Nor was~
this voice heard upon the waters of Jordan only, but also, in Enon near to Salim,~
because there was much water there. (John iii. 23.)

[Lectio5]
The voice of the Lord upon the waters, then, is John upon baptism. Then also the~
God of glory thundereth. For (when Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was~
baptized of John in Jordan..) there came a voice from heaven, saying, This~
is My Beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased. (Mark i. 9, II.) Then also was it~
true that The Lord is upon many waters when He was pleased to come from Galilee~
to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him... to fulfil all righteousness~
(Matth. iii. 13, 15,) which is of the law. (Rom. x. 5.) The voice of the Lord is~
powerful powerful to heal the weaknesses of the people through the baptism of~
repentance, baptizing through John with water unto repentance. (Matth. iii. 11.)~
The voice of the Lord is powerful, which saith Repent ye, for the kingdom of~
heaven is at hand, and Bring forth fruits meet for repentance. 

[Lectio6]
The voice of the Lord breaketh the cedars. This may well be said of him who,~
being sent as a messenger before the face of the Lord, to make ready for Him a~
prepared people, made the crooked places straight, by breaking down and treading~
flat the haughty growths of ungodliness that had lifted themselves up to block~
out the acknowledgment of God. He by whom every valley was exalted, and every~
mountain and hill was made low, the same was he who broke the cedars, and made~
straight in the desert an highway for our God, by laying low in repentance the~
hearts that were haughty, and proud, and lifted up. The Lord availing Himself of~
that preparation, smote down at His coming every power that withstood Him, which~
are spoken of under a similitude as the cedars of Lebanon. For the Lord must~
reign till He hath put all enemies under His feet, (i Cor. xv. 25,) and trodden~
down these cedars.

[Lectio7]
From the Holy Gospel according to Luke
!Luke 1:57-68
Elizabeth's full time came that she should be delivered and she brought forth a~
son. And her neighbours and her cousins heard how the Lord had showed great~
mercy upon her and they rejoiced with her. And so on
_
From the Homily by St Ambrose, Bishop of Milan.
!Bk. ii. on Luke's
And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied. Behold~
how good is God, and how ready to forgive sinners Not only doth He give back~
that which He hath taken away, but He addeth moreover such and such things, more~
than either we ask or think. He that had hitherto been dumb, now speaketh~
prophecy. But the greatest grace of God is in this, that he which had denied,~
now maketh profession. Therefore let no man despair, nay, though he well knoweth~
what have been his past sins, let him never give up hope of a reward from God.~
If thou knowest how to amend thy crooked ways, God knoweth how to turn away the~
judgments of His anger.

[Lectio8]
And thou, child, shalt be called the Prophet of the Highest. How gracefully,~
while as he prophesieth of the Lord, he turneth his address to the Prophet,~
making mention of this great mercy of the Lord along with the others, lest,~
while he openly gave thanks for his own benefits, he should seem to keep the~
silence of unthankfulness regarding those which he knew had been given to his~
boy. But some will perhaps deem it his folly that he addressed his discourse to a~
babe of eight days old. Verily, if we call to mind that John heard the voice of~
Mary's salutation when he was in his mother's womb, we shall understand how much~
rather he could hear the voice of his father now when he was born.

[Lectio9]
Zacharias knew well that a Prophet hath ears which open under the influence of~
the Spirit of God, instead of that of advancing age. He that had had sense to~
leap in the womb for joy, wanted not understanding. At the same time remark unto~
how many Zacharias prophesied, and though both he and his wife were filled with~
the Holy Ghost, yet all things are done in due order, and the woman studieth~
rather to learn the things of God than to teach them.
&teDeum

