DAILY HOMILIES #Catechism of the Catholic Church

Why, then, did Jesus say that John the Baptist is Elijah that is to come? 1) To show that the prophecy about the return of Elijah has come to pass. This implies that Jesus is truly the Messiah. 2) To emphasise (praise) John the Baptist’s excellence. Note that Jesus’s words, at this point, were a funeral oration for John the Baptist, who had just been beheaded. 3) To teach us that we remain alive as long as people continue our good works. Elijah died, yet he was alive in John the Baptist.

Belshazzar knew what those vessels were meant for, but he attempted to challenge God’s existence. This experience teaches us to avoid taking God for granted. The fact that God is silent does not mean He is weak. God is a merciful father; He is also a consuming fire. Hebrews 12:29 reads, “For our God is a consuming fire.” Deuteronomy 4:24 says, “For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.” Psalm 18:8 says, “Smoke rose from his nostrils, and consuming fire came from his mouth, burning coals blazed out of it.”