Nativity of St. John Baptist

In the ancient tradition of the Church, there are only three persons whose birthdays are liturgically celebrated: Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, His Mother, and John the Baptist.

John the Baptist's birthday is June 24, six months before the Feast of the Nativity of Our Lord.

The birth of John the Baptist is so important that the evangelist Luke begins his gospel with it – in fact, with its prelude. We are told of his parents who were pious people, but God had not blessed them with children.

John’s father Zacharias was a priest, and that meant his whole life was dedicated to serving God. Probably he and his wife Elisabeth asked many times why God had deprived them of the happiness of having children. It is no wonder that when the angel appeared to Zacharias and announced that a son would be born to him, he had a hard time believing it. As punishment for his unbelief, Zacharias was rendered speechless for nine months.

As usual, God used what was humanly a problem to bring forth something good. First, the nine months of silence gave Zacharias the opportunity to go deeper into what had happened and to think about it thoroughly. I guess we all need such an opportunity –  to switch off the noise that keeps burying us and to be silent for a while.

This time gave Elisabeth and Zacharias the opportunity to understand how great a miracle and gift they would receive. Therefore, it is not surprising that they readily accepted the name given to their son by the angel, for the name John means "gift of the Lord" or "the Lord has graced".

John the Baptist is God's gift to us all. He was born to prepare the way for the Lord and to proclaim, as a voice crying in the wilderness, that the Savior is coming to bring us forgiveness of sins and eternal life.