THE NATIVITY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST

"the greatest man born of a woman"

This is the only Saint for whom the feast is celebrated on the day of his birth. Saint John the Baptist was born six months before Jesus Christ (six months from today - December 24 - we will be celebrating the Birth of Our Redeemer).

The first chapter of the Gospel of Saint Luke tells us the birth of John in the following way: "Zechariah was a Jewish priest who was married to Saint Elizabeth, and they had no children because she was barren. When they were old, one day when he was in the Temple, an Angel appeared to him standing to the right of the altar.

When he saw him he was afraid, but the Angel said to him: "Do not be afraid, Zechariah; Well, I come to tell you that you will see the Messiah, and that your wife is going to have a son, who will be his precursor, whom you will name Juan. He will not drink wine or anything that can intoxicate and from his mother's womb he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, and will convert many to God."

But Zechariah answered the Angel: "How can I be sure that this is true, since my wife is already old and so am I?"

The Angel said to him: "I am Gabriel, who attends the throne of God, from whom I have been sent to bring you this news. But because you have not believed my words, you will remain mute and will not speak again until all this is fulfilled."

Six months later, the same Angel appeared to the Blessed Virgin informing her that she was going to be the Mother of the Son of God, and also gave her the news of the pregnancy of her cousin Elizabeth.

Full of joy she ran to make herself available to her cousin to help her in those moments. And having entered her house, he greeted her. At that moment, the child Juan jumped for joy in his mother's womb, because he had just received the grace of the Holy Spirit through the contact of the Son of God who was in the womb of the Virgin.

Saint Elizabeth also felt filled with the Holy Spirit and, with a prophetic spirit, exclaimed: "Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Where does such joy come to me that the Mother of my Lord comes to see me? Well, at that moment when the voice of your greeting reached my ears, the creature in my womb began to jump for joy. Oh, blessed are You who have believed! Because without fail all things that have been told to you from the Lord will be fulfilled." And the Virgin remained in her cousin's house for approximately three months, until Saint John was born.

We know nothing about San Juan's childhood. Perhaps, while still a boy and orphan of parents, he fled to the desert filled with the Spirit of God because contact with nature brought him closer to God. He lived his entire youth dedicated solely to penance and prayer.

For clothing he only wore a camel skin, and for food, whatever Providence put within his reach: wild fruits, roots, and mainly locusts and wild honey. He was only concerned with the Kingdom of God.

Today the Holy Church celebrates the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist, Precursor of the Lord, who, while still in the womb, upon being filled with the Holy Spirit, exulted with joy at the imminent arrival of the Salvation of the human race. His birth prophesied the Nativity of Christ the Lord, and his existence shone with such splendor of grace that Jesus Christ himself said that among those born of women there was no one as great as John the Baptist.

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