June 24 | The Nativity of Saint John the Baptist

Born: June, 1 AD, Judea

Died: 30 AD, Machaerus (modern-day Jordan)

Nationality: Israeli

Vocation: prophet, hermit, baptizer, teacher

Attributes: camel-skin robe, cross, scallop shell

Patronage: baptism, bird dealers, converts, lambs, monastics, printers, tailors, untold blessings

Canonization: Pre-Congregation

St. John the Baptist was truly “The voice of one calling out, ‘Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness; Make straight in the desert a highway for our God’” (Isaiah 40:3). On June 24, the Church celebrates the miraculous birth of this great prophet who is often called the precursor, or forerunner to Christ, his cousin. 

The Gospel of Luke details how John’s birth was divinely ordained, and the sign of one even greater to come. The Baptist’s parents, Zechariah, a priest, and Elizabeth, were elderly and by all accounts unable to conceive. One day when Zechariah was in the temple, the angel Gabriel appeared to him.

When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth. (Luke 1:13-14)

Gabriel told John’s father that his son “will be great in the sight of the Lord” and “he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born.  He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God” (Luke 1:15-16). However, Zechariah was skeptical of what the angel was saying to him.

To this, Gabriel replied, “And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time” (Luke 1:20).

After Elizabeth and Zechariah gave birth to a son, Elizabeth announced his name would be John as the angel had said. The couple’s relatives protested since no one in the family was named “John” and turned to Zechariah for his opinion. Still mute, Zechariah wrote the words, “His name is John,” and he was miraculously able to speak again.  

As John grew older, his humility was beyond measure. When Jesus asked to be baptized by him, he replied. “I am the one who needs to be baptized by you, so why are you coming to me?” He also said, “He must increase, but I must decrease,” (John 3:30).

St. John the Baptist, pray for us.