Feast of The Nativity of St John the Baptist

Fr. Hugh Gillespie, SMM

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Feast of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist

We celebrate today the birth of that one whose greatness and holiness is second only to the Virgin Mary. Let me repeat that so that we’re clear.

We celebrate today in the nativity, the birth of that saint whose greatness and whose holiness is second only to the Virgin Mary. And that is John the Baptist. This is not to dismiss or diminish St. Joseph, but it is to recognize what the Church has kept for 2,000 years, the singular greatness of John the Baptist, one of only two people of whom we can say from the first instant of his life everything about him is ordered to Jesus Christ. The second one is Mary.

Note how unique, how remarkable, that is. This one that we celebrate today, lamentably at a period in our history where devotion to John the Baptist and a sense of his singular importance has horribly diminished among us, the faithful. Although in some parts of the world the custom is on this day we head out to the beach. And so if you feel the urge to do so this afternoon you are in good company. One of the traditional ways of celebrating the nativity of the Baptist is to go near the water.

What Makes John the Baptist So Great?

However, all of that begs the question of what is it that makes the figure of John the Baptist so compelling, the person of John the Baptist so remarkable? And again, rather than just make things up off the top of our heads, the best thing to do is to listen to how the Church prays and how the Church reflects.

Listen to this remarkable Gospel and Homily given on this Feast Day. Understand what makes St. John the Baptist so unique, so great and so holy by listening to this 22 minute audio.

Nativity of St. John the Baptist: Italian Painter: Pontormo: 1526

Zechariah did not believe the message of Gabriel, he was rendered speechless until the time of John’s birth. At that time, his relatives wanted to name the child after his father, and Zechariah wrote, “His name is John”, whereupon he recovered his ability to speak (Luke 1:5–25; 1:57–66). The painting depicts Zechariah writing the name of John on a tablet.

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