Daily Gospel Reflection for January 10, 2026

In seminary, I enjoyed reading Church history even outside of what was assigned for class. I always remember coming across an obscure theological debate in the life of the early Church: to provide the preface to the Gospel that Jesus eventually preached, was St. John the Baptist immaculately conceived? We know this to be the case with Mother Mary, seeing that she conceived, carried, and gave birth to the Savior. Would this be true of the preparation of the Gospel words that St. John uttered? When Jesus proclaimed the Gospel, would it need an immaculate introduction/preface/forward from St. John the Baptist to fill out the divine literary analogy?

 

The Church hasn't declared definitively either way, and it’s a theological question that doesn’t carry much interest in modern times. But the life of St. John the Baptist as depicted in today’s Gospel and which will be celebrated tomorrow on Baptism of the Lord Sunday speaks to the importance of this great saint. If you attend an Eastern Catholic or Eastern Orthodox liturgy, you will notice the two most prominent saints on the iconostasis--Mother Mary and St. John the Baptist. I like to say that Mary and St. John the Baptist serve as our #2 and #3 pillars in the faith after Jesus Christ.

 

I can’t stress enough the prefaces parents provide in raising children in the Christian faith. St. John the Baptist pours water upon aspiring disciples for the repentance of sins. A good, nurturing parent would do the same, creatively using the “stuff” around him or her to teach lessons about the faith. Sometimes, a lesson takes on a more admonishing turn, as in the case of St. John the Baptist in the land of Aenon. Parents should remember when teaching hard truths, you’re doing St. John the Baptist’s and, essentially the Lord’s work.

St. John the Baptist, pray for me.