feast day (solemnity): June 24
about:
- a Christian feast day celebrating the birth of John the Baptist (called the Precursor or Forerunner of the Lord), a prophet who foretold the coming of the Messiah in the person of Jesus, whom he later baptised
- observed by: Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Eastern Catholic Churches, Lutherans, and Anglicans
- The sole biblical account of the birth of John the Baptist comes from the Gospel of Luke. John’s parents, Zechariah or Zachary — a Jewish priest — and Elizabeth, were without children and both were beyond the age of child-bearing. During Zechariah's rotation to serve in the Temple in Jerusalem, he was chosen by lot to offer incense at the Golden Altar in the Holy Place. The Archangel Gabriel appeared to him and announced that he and his wife would give birth to a child, and that they should name him John. However, because Zechariah did not believe the message of Gabriel, he was rendered speechless until the time of John's birth. At that time, his relatives wanted to name the child after his father, and Zechariah wrote, "His name is John", whereupon he recovered his ability to speak (Luke 1:5-25; 1:57-66). Following Zechariah's obedience to the command of God, he was given the gift of prophecy, and foretold the future ministry of John (Luke 1:67-79), this prophecy forming the text of the Benedictus canticle.
- As to the date of the birth of John the Baptist, nothing can be said with certainty. The Gospel suggests that the Precursor was born about six months before Christ; but the year of Christ's nativity has not so far been ascertained. Nor is there anything certain about the season of Christ's birth, for it is well known that the assignment of the feast of Christmas to the twenty-fifth of December is not grounded on historical evidence, but is possibly suggested by merely astronomical considerations, also, perhaps, inferred from astronomico-theological reasonings.
links/ sources:
- "Nativity of St John the Baptist" (Wikipedia):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nativity_of_St_John_the_Baptist
- "Solemnity of the Nativity of St John the Baptist" (American Catholic):
http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/Saints/saint.aspx?id=1424
- "Saint John the Baptist the Precursor" (EWTN):
http://www.ewtn.com/library/MARY/JOHNBAPT.htm
- "St. John the Baptist" (Catholic Encyclopedia):
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08486b.htm
- "St. John the Baptist" (Catholic Online):
http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=152
- "John the Baptist" (Wikipedia):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_the_Baptist
- "Benedictus (Song of Zechariah)" (WIkipedia):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benedictus_%28Song_of_Zechariah%29