Skip to main content

The Nativity of St. John the Baptist

The Nativity of St. John the Baptist: Feast Day June 24th

Did you know that the Church only celebrates three birthdays on the liturgical calendar? Christmas—the Lord's birthday, the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Sept. 8th), and the Nativity of St. John the Baptist (June 24th). When we think about this, we are reminded that Jesus said, “All the prophets and the law prophesied up to the time of John” (Matthew 11:13). Saint John the Baptist is the last great prophet, the prophet to come before the Lord. We hear John the Baptist proclaim, "He must increase; I must decrease" (John 3:30). As we celebrate the birthday of Saint John the Baptist today, let’s reflect on his boldness, yet even more his humility. John the Baptist was bold in proclaiming the word of God and preparing people for the coming of Jesus, yet I believe his humility is even more powerful. Everything he did, he did for the glory of God, not for his own glory. He had a growing following, he was known throughout the land, yet he proclaimed, “I must decrease.” John the Baptist had no qualms with stepping away from the limelight, from recognizing that his mission was to follow and adhere to the will of God. Are we bold, yet even more importantly, humble like Saint John the Baptist? Can he serve as an inspiration for us as we think about what our purpose is for doing something? Saint John the Baptist, pray that we may have the courage to be bold in doing the mission God has created just for us and to listen to and follow his will, and pray that we will have the humility to recognize that everything we do and/or accomplish is because of God’s grace and should, therefore, glorify Him, not our own ego or pride. Amen.

Celebrating with a Food-Craft:

Since John the Baptist would grow up and eat locusts and wild honey, for a fun birthday treat make tasty fruit and vegetable bugs. “Good Housekeeping” has great ideas/recipes you can use for inspiration. You can even get creative and invent your own creepy-crawly snacks. I couldn’t resist using the word “creepy,” because I gotta say I love how the mini-series “The Chosen” calls Saint John the Baptist “Creepy John.” 




Celebrating with a Prayer:

Here is a prayer I wrote that you and your family can say together. You can even print it out and decorate around the words with pieces of construction paper to make it have a collage/mosaic appearance, or draw and color pictures and/or designs. Here is a printable version.

Oh, John the Baptist, how blessed you were! Friend and cousin to the Son of God, the voice crying out in the wilderness, proclaiming the way of the Lord; courageous, not caring what others or the world thought of you, and above all humble to the Son of God and the will of the Father. Pray for us, that we may be courageous, like you, in proclaiming the word of God; that we may live apart from the world, knowing our true home is not of this world, and humble, so we may hear the word of God whispering to our souls. Saint John the Baptist, ever an inspiration in these difficult times, pray for us and for the world. Amen.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Saint Teresa of Avila

Saint Teresa of Avila: Feast Day October 15th (My rendition of François Gérard’s painting “Teresa of Ávila”  1827) "Let nothing disturb you. Let nothing make you afraid. All things are passing. God alone never changes. Patience gains all things. If you have God, you will want for nothing. God alone suffices.”  It's been a while since I've written a blog post, and as I reflect upon the words of Saint Teresa of Avila's "Serenity Prayer" above, I cannot help but find comfort in them. Living in a time when everything in the world seems to be turned upside down, and logic and truth abandoned, the wisdom of Saint Teresa offers hope, consolation, and peace.  Teresa of Avila lived in a time similar to our own. Born in the 16th century, she witnessed a world that contained globalism, political conflicts, and religious tensions following the Protestant Reformation. Yet during this turmoil, she trusted in God. She lived a life of contemplation, excelled in writing and p...
Post a Comment
Read more

Saint Margaret Mary

Saint Margaret Mary: Feast Day October 16th  “Look upon yourself as a tree planted beside water, which bears its fruit in due season; the more it is shaken by the wind, the deeper it strikes its roots into the ground.” ~ Saint Margaret Mary ~ Faith is a gift—an undeserved and valuable grace granted by the Holy Spirit. Each of us has the capacity to seek The Way, The Truth, and The Life, for this longing has been inscribed within our hearts. Yet, in our free will, we have the choice and ability to ignore and turn from this divine call. Like the image of the tree Saint Margaret Mary describes above, if we seek Jesus and are rooted in our faith, nothing can shake us. Our water is the Church, and Jesus, in the Holy Eucharist, is who makes our roots deep and strong enabling us to withstand the winds of the world and produce good fruit in His name.  Jesus offers us so many opportunities to find Him, and so many ways to live with Him in Heaven. In the 1600s, He appeared to Saint Mar...
Post a Comment
Read more

Saint Wenceslaus

Saint Wenceslaus: Feast Day Sept. 28 I’ve heard the Christmas carol “Good King Wenceslaus” practically every Christmas and played the song on the piano too, but I never knew he was a saint until recently.    When I looked Saint Wenceslaus up and read about him, I learned he was from Bohemia and was a duke and not a king. He was declared a king after his death and proclaimed a saint soon after as tales of his virtue, piety, and care for the poor spread. Today as my family celebrated “Good King Wenceslaus’s” feast day, we took a Christmas theme approach, since,  the lyrics of his Christmas carol mention him looking out the window on the Feast of Saint Stephen (The first Christian martyr whose feast day is December 26th). Craft: While listening to the Christmas carol “Good King Wenceslaus,” we made  paper snowflake patters . There are a variety of printable templates at this link that are easy to use. I then discussed with my kids that each snowflake is different and un...
Post a Comment
Read more