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 and He  will  thoroughly  cleanse  His  floor,  and  gather  the  wheat into His  barn,  but  the  chaff  He  will  burn  with  unquenchable  fire.”

Then the  High  Priest  and  the  Council  sent  priests  and  Levites  from  Jerusalem  to  ask  John:  “Who  art  thou?”  He  answered: “I am  not  the  Christ.”  They  continued:  “Art  thou  Elias?”  He replied:  “I  am  not.”  They  spoke  again:  “Art  thou  the  great prophet?” He  said:  “No!”  At  last  they  exclaimed: “Why,  then, dost thou  baptize,  if  thou  be  not  Christ,  nor  Elias,  nor  the  prophet?” John  answered  that  he  was  the  forerunner  [‘a  voice  crying in the  wilderness,  prepare  ye  the  way  of  the  Lord’]  of  the  Messias who would  soon  appear  in  their  midst,  preaching  penance  and announcing the  good  tidings  of  salvation.

The virtues  of  St. John the  Baptist.

1. His self-denial.  He  lived  far  from  the  world  in  the  solitude  of the  desert,  wearing  one  single,  coarse,  rough  garment,  and  his  food was of  the  poorest  description.

2. His obedience.  It  was  a hard  task  to  preach  penance  to  the sensual and  worldly-minded  Jews,  but  John  promptly  undertook  the task, because  God  commanded  it

3. His courage.  He  did  not  hesitate  to  speak  out  the  truth  boldly to the  Pharisees  and  Sadducees,  although  he  knew  that  they  would  hate him for  it.

4. His  humility. “I am  not  the  Christ. I am not  worthy  to  loose the latchet  of  His  shoes.”

John's mission  was  twofold:  1. to preach  penance  to  the  Jews  by word  and  example,  and  thus  make  them  ready  to  receive  the  grace  of Redemption;  2. to herald  the  Redeemer,  and  bear  testimony  to  Him. The holy  prophet  fulfilled  both  missions  most  perfectly. His preaching was so  persuasive  that  even  the  hard-hearted  publicans  and  rude  soldiers were moved  by  it. He especially  pointed  out:

a) the  necessity  of  good  works: “Every  tree  that  bringeth  not  forth good  fruit  shall  be  cut  down  and  cast  into  the  fire”;  — “He  that  hath two  coats,  let  him  give  to  him  that  hath  none; and  he  that  hath  meat, let  him  do  in  like  manner”;