Solemnity of the Nativity
of
John the Baptist
.
.
The Nativity of St. John
the Baptist
St. Luke tells us in his
Gospel that John was conceived in a miraculous manner and that his parents were
Zachary and Elizabeth. This was 6 months before the birth of Jesus.
He spent his youth in the
desert, and at the age of 30 came to Judea and preached
near the Jordan.
He told the people to do
penance because the kingdom of God was at hand.
He baptized the Savior in
the Jordan.
He rebuked Herod for
taking to himself the wife of his brother; at the request of the dancing
daughter of Herodias he was imprisoned and beheaded.
John the Baptist is the
only saint whose birthday is observed by the Church; he is the only saint who
was cleansed from original sin in his mother’s womb and who consequently was
holy at his birth.
The Gospel describes the joy
caused by his birth, and recalls that at the circumcision he did not receive
the name of his father, as was customary among the Jews, but the name
designated by the angel.
He was to be the precursor
of the Lord, a mission prefigured by that of Isaias and destined for him by God
even before his birth.
The Introit tells us that
God made John’s “mouth like a sharp sword.” John was uncompromising in his
attitude towards sin, condemned fearlessly his incredulous and bad
generation, and accepted martyrdom rather than condone the badness of the
rich and the mighty.
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