A Voice of One Crying in the Wilderness

June 23 is the Solemnity of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist, one of our greatest saints. It is normally celebrated on June 24 but was transferred to this earlier day because the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is celebrated tomorrow this year.

The readings for the Mass in honor of Saint John the Baptist are filled with rich reflection upon his life.

The first reading from Isaiah: 49-1-6, prophesies his role as the forerunner of Christ who prepares His way, " Hear me O coastlands, listen O distant peoples, The Lord called me from my birth, from my mother's womb he gave me my name...You are my servant, he said to me, Israel, through whom I show my glory."

The Responsorial Psalm, 139: 1b, 13-14ab, 14c-15, speaks of his conception: "Truly you have formed me in my inmost being; you knit me in my mother's womb. I give you thanks that I am fearfully, wonderfully made; wonderful are your works."

This verse shows that babies in the womb are not just a glob of cells but are persons. This is attested to when we pray the Second Joyful Mystery of the Rosary, derived from Luke 1: 44-45: "And how does this happen that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy." John is already giving witness to Jesus as the Savior. Two unborn human beings, one also divine, are communicating with each other with sanctifying grace.

In Acts 13: 22-26, Saint Paul says, "John heralded His coming by proclaiming a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel; and as John was completing his course, he would say, "What do you suppose that I am? I am not he. Behold, one is coming after me; I am unworthy to unfasten the sandals of his feet." John is pointed to as the forerunner to the "Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world," John: 1: 29. John baptizes Jesus at the beginning of His public ministry, although John does not feel worthy of such an act.

The Gospel reading for the day, Luke 1: 57-66, 80, speaks about the birth of John and how his realtives wanted to name him after his father, Zechariah, but his mother, Elizabeth, and his father insisted on naming him John.

The Archangel Gabriel had told Zechariah to name him John when he was in the sanctuary of the temple in Jerusalem. After he had written John upon a tablet, Zechariah was no longer mute because he first doubted that his prayer for a child would be answered: Luke 1: 20.

Today's Gospel passage says, "What then, will this child be? For surely the hand of the Lord was upon him. The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the desert until the day of his manifestation to Israel."

John's great role in salvation history is mentioned earlier in Luke 1: 15-17: "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. He will go before him in the spirit and the power of Elijah to turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous, to prepare a people fit for the Lord."

St. John the Baptist makes the ultimate sacrifice when he tells Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife," Mark 6: 17. Herodias, Herod's wife, wanted to kill him and instigated the arrest of the holy man. He was willing to speak the truth about Herod's situation and the spiritual danger that he was in. This is similar to our day when bishops and priests are sometimes criticized for pointing out spiritual dangers Catholic politicians are in when they support abortion and same-sex marriage, and by refusing them Holy Communion until they change their positions. It takes prayer, reflection, courage and character to go against the mainstream in our culture. But a well-formed conscience will allow nothing less.

John the Baptist pays the price with his life when he is martyred at Herodias' instigation: Mark 6: 24-27. There are many Christians in our world today who are also being persecuted and martyred for their faith, and many in our country are ridiculed for our life-affriming Christian values. There are also many acts of vandalism against churches and pro-life pregnancy centers, as well as the shooting of innocent people in churches and other religious houses of worship.

It is interesting that Jesus and John are blood relatives; they are cousins through the Blessed Mother. And John is content with his role as the preparer for smoothing the way for Christ, the Jewish Messiah, and then stepping aside. He realizes this in his statement, "He must increase; I must decrease," John: 3: 30.