Nativity of St. John the Baptist -- June 24

Raphael's Virgin and Child with

St John the Baptist

On the feast of this great saint of ours, I wanted to share some information that I learned today, that, as a cradle Catholic, I did not previously know.

Our tradition tells us that St. John the Baptist, cousin of Our Lord Jesus, was born without Original Sin. There are three people whose births we recognize in our Liturgical Year: Mary the Mother of Jesus, Jesus, and St. John the Baptist. Two of those, Mary and Jesus, were, of course, conceived and born without Original Sin. St. John the Baptist, however, was conceived with Original Sin. But, at the moment of the Visitation, when his mother Elizabeth looked upon the face of Mary and recognized the Divine Presence, St. John the Baptist leapt in the womb of his mother and was cleansed of the stain of Original Sin.

Scripture tells us in Luke 1:12-16

Zechariah was troubled by what he saw, and fear came upon him. But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall name him John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the sight of (the) Lord. He will drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will be filled with the holy Spirit even from his mother's womb, and he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God.

This information came from our parish priest, Fr. Paul Noble, in his homily this morning. I feel so fortunate to have a wonderful shepherd who takes his vocation very seriously and goes to lengths to educate his flock in their faith. He must have known that many of us cradle Catholics would not know this information because he said "if you knew this information, you may have forgotten it, or many cradle Catholics may not have ever learned it." I'm glad he gave me an excuse for being so ignorant. I feel as though I've been under a rock. There is so much I have yet to learn about my faith.

Fr. Noble also told us that in moments of doubt about our vocation it is well to look to St. John the Baptist, who knew of his vocation at a very early age and spent his life as an example of the love of God. Here is a wonderful article about St. John's vocation, and how we can help our children discern their own.

For more information about St. John the Baptist, go here and here.