06/25/2025
“There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came for testimony, to bear witness to the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness to the light.” (John 1:6–8)
In the first decade B.C., in a town of Judea, a priest called Zechariah entered the temple to burn incense, as was custom. Suddenly, the angel Gabriel appears before Zechariah, who is overcome with fear, but the angel says to him:
Do not be afraid, Zechari′ah, for your prayer is heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. (Luke 1:13)
Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth were advanced in age, and they believed it no longer possible to bear a child. In disbelief—even distrust—Zechariah questioned the angel, saying “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” Gabriel proclaimed that Zechariah would remain silent until he saw that his words would be fulfilled, and Elizabeth soon conceived.
In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, Gabriel appeared to her cousin Mary and announced to her that she would bear God’s Son. Mary then went to visit Elizabeth, and at the sound of Mary’s greeting, the baby in Elizabeth’s womb leaped with joy. When the baby was born, he was given the name John, meaning “God is gracious”.
John the Baptist was not the Light, but came to testify to the Light, to bear witness to it. In the Visitation, John demonstrated this witness: from the first moments of his life, his heart was ordered towards God, as he recognized God, even in the womb. In his Nativity, John’s name bore this recognition, and God would continue to use John’s veracity to make his life an expression of Love and Truth throughout his life.
Today, we join with the whole Church as she rejoices in the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist, the Forerunner of Christ. The circumstances surrounding John’s Nativity illustrate how the Lord calls each and every person to holiness—a holiness rooted in joy—and invite us to consider how we respond to God’s call in our own lives, to consider how each action we take might reflect love for God and love for one another.
O God, who raised up Saint John the Baptist
to make ready a nation fit for Christ the Lord,
give your people, we pray,
the grace of spiritual joys
and direct the hearts of all the faithful
into the way of salvation and peace.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
