Usually the Church observes the day of a saint’s death as his feast, since that day marks his entry into heaven. There are two noteworthy exceptions — the nativities of Blessed Mary and of St. John the Baptist. Why? Because both Our Lady and John were free from original sin. Mary, from the first moment of her existence, was free from original sin and John was cleansed of original sin in the womb of his mother, St. Elizabeth.
John was a special man. The Baptist was born to point to Christ. His mid-summer birth points to the mid-winter birth of the Light of the World, Jesus Christ. The days of summer will grow shorter as we get closer to the darkness of winter.
In a homily by Father Tommy Lane, he stated: “John turning attention away from himself towards Jesus reminds us to do the same also in our lives. In each of us, we ourselves are to decrease and Jesus is to increase.”
Today’s feast challenges to search for ways that we can decrease so that Our Lord can increase in our lives. How can we decrease? One way is to rid ourselves of negatives thoughts and words and replace them with loving thoughts of Our Redeemer. Another idea is decrease needless chatter and redirect the silence created to thoughts of God. What are your ideas for how we can decrease our selves so that Christ can increase?
Even to this day, John the Baptist is calling us to live in a righteous way. This path is not easy. But with God’s grace we will walk in His love. St. John the Baptist, pray for us!