THE BIRTH OF JOHN THE BAPTIST

The birth of St. John the Baptist 

Good morning/evening everyone. We have a mission Church named after St. John the Baptist in Minet and people often call us looking for a Catholic church in Minet, we give the address and then they call us back saying, "That is a Baptist church and we are looking for a Catholic Church..." Then I read the Bible to them for an hour and explain why it's not a Baptist church.... 

Once two monasteries were fighting over who possess the head of St. John the Baptist. They both claimed that they have the authentic evidence and then they finally settled saying that they both have the head of St. John the Baptist. One Monetary has the head of John the Baptist when he was a man and the other has the head which was smaller that means when he was a boy. 

Today the Holy Catholic Church celebrates the solemn festival of the glorious birth of St. John the Baptist. The Church celebrates three birthday solemnities namely the Nativity of Christ our Lord, the Nativity of our Blessed Mother ever virgin and that of John the Baptist.  

John the Baptist: The very name 'John' means 'God is gracious'. And like Abraham and Sarah and like many other pious people in the bible, Zachariah and Elizabeth were without child for long time. Because of their faith in God and because of their fear of God and because of their trust in God, they were blessed to have a child. But, though they strongly believed in miracles, like Thomas the Apostle, Zachariah began to doubt saying, "How is it possible?"  

Everything is possible with God. And that is why He is called 'God'. And he was taken away his communication ability and he was made mute. It wasn't a punishment but a blessing. He was given time to think, meditate and reflect on the graciousness of God Almighty. There are people after certain age complain saying, "They cannot sleep after certain hour at night..." It's a blessing. They are given time to pray, meditate and reflect on the love of God. There is a reason for everything that happens to us and those who interpret them with the help of God, enrich themselves spiritually. 

Though Zachariah and Elizabeth were in their advanced age, God blessed them with a child and nothing is impossible with God. Please remember doctors can give you the diagnosis but only God knows the prognosis. Don't be afraid of your challenges and God will continue to do miracles in your life and your children's and grandchildren's and others. 

Even as our Blessed Lady hesitated about the birth of Christ, the angel Gabriel said to her, "Look at your cousin Elizabeth, in her old age, God almighty blessed her with a child...and then we see how our Blessed lady began to sing Magnificat saying, "My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in the Lord always..." 

Conclusion: 

As we look at the lives of all these amazing holy people who received miracle upon miracle, we come to know one thing in common. Though they practiced their faith in common place such as synagogues and temples and were involved with many community activities, they never forgot to pray at home. They had 'family prayer'. Yes, when a family is united in prayer, miracles and wonders will continue to happen. Let us pray at home and experience Christ every day. So, as we celebrate the glorious birth of John the Baptist, let us renew our baptismal promises asking Christ to help us to begin our family prayers at home. Amen.