He was specially chosen to prepare people's hearts to receive the Good News that Jesus would preach. We are all expected to help people to be more receptive to God's Truth, Love and gift of eternal life. Speak to the Lord of how you are doing or not doing this.
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Fr. Philip Heng, S.J.The date originally was the pagan celebration of the
summer solstice. King Clovis of France christianised the event by making it a religious celebration of the birth of John the Baptist. John the Baptist is known as
the Precursor of Christ, rebirth, and the light to the world, which explains the link to the solstice.
...
Unfortunately, like many religious holidays, the holiday was securalised, and is now know as the
Fête Nationale in Quebec.
This does not stop modern Christians though from remembering the
deeds, service, and loyalty of John the Baptist...
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About: St. Jean Baptiste Day...the times were troubled, and the people yearned for reassurance and comfort...
Although his preaching and baptising continued for some months during the Saviour's own ministry, John always made plain that he was merely
the Forerunner.
His humility remained incorruptible even when his fame spread to Jerusalem and members of the higher priesthood came to make inquiries and to hear him. "
Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand," -this was John's oft-repeated theme.
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Eternal World Network: St. John the Baptist the PrecursorBut the angel said to him: "Fear not, Zachary, for thy prayer is heard; and they wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John: and thou shalt have joy and gladness, and many shall rejoice in his nativity. For he shall be great before the Lord; and shall drink no wine nor strong drink: and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb. And he shall convert many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias; that he may turn the hearts of the fathers unto the children, and the incredulous to the wisdom of the just, to prepare unto the Lord a perfect people."
...
The resemblance of the feast of St. John with that of
Christmas was carried farther, for another feature of the 24th of June was the celebration of three masses: the first, in the dead of night, recalled his mission of Precursor; the second, at daybreak, commemorated the baptism he conferred; and the third, at the hour of Terce, honoured his sanctity. The whole liturgy of the day, repeatedly enriched by the additions of several popes, was in suggestiveness and beauty on a part with the liturgy of Christmas. So
sacred was St. John's day deemed that two rival armies, meeting face to face on 23 June, by common accord put off the battle until the morrow of the feast (Battle of Fontenay, 841).
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Catholic Encyclopedia: St. John the BaptistCool. Christmas is at the winter solstice and St. John's is the summer solstice! Although this year's summer solstice was June 21.John the Baptist (also called John the Baptiser, or Yahya the Baptiser) is regarded as a
prophet by at least three
religions:
Christianity,
Islam, and
Mandaeanism.
...
The Eastern Orthodox Church remembers Saint John the Forerunner on six separate feastdays:
September 23 - Conception of St. John the Forerunner
January 7 - The Commemoration of St. John the Forerunner (main feastday, immediately after Epiphany on January 6)
February 24 - First and Second Finding of the Head of St. John the Forerunner
May 25 - Third Finding of the Head of St. John the Forerunner
June 24 - Birth of St. John the ForerunnerAugust 29 - The Beheading of St. John the Forerunner
The Roman Catholic Church remembers St. John the Baptists on two separate feastdays:
June 24 The Birth of St. JohnAugust 29 The Decollation (Beheading) of St. John
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Saint John the Baptist is the patron saint of
French Canada. The Canadian cities of
St. John's, Newfoundland (
1497) and
Saint John, New Brunswick (
1604) were both named in honour of Saint John. His feast day is
June 24, celebrated in
Quebec as the
Fête nationale du Québec.
He is also counted as the Patron of the
Knights Hospitaller of Jerusalem.
...
St. John's Wort is named after St. John because it is traditionally harvested on his feast day.
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Wikipedia: John the Baptist...he is the only saint besides the Virgin Mary whose birthday is celebrated: June 24.
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Answers.com: John the BaptistAlso known asJoannes Baptista; John the Baptiser; John the Forerunner; Juan Bautista
Name MeaningGod is gracious; gift of God (John)
Patronage[places, nationalities, orders]
diocese of Charleston, South Carolina
Colletorto, Italy
diocese of Dodge City, Kansas
French Canadians
Fürstenberg, Germany
Genoa, Italy
Jordan
Knights Hospitaller
Knights of Malta
Leioa, Spain
Macau, China
Maltese Knights
Monte San Giovanni Campano, Italy
Monza, Italy
Palermo, Sicily
diocese of Paterson, New Jersey
Penzance, Cornwall, England
diocese of Portland, Maine
Pozzallo, Sicily
Puerto Rico
Quebec
Ragusa, Sicily
Saint-Jean-le-Blanc, Loiret, France
San Juan Indian Pueblo
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Sassano, Italy
diocese of Savannah, Georgia
Teising, Germany
Torino, Italy
Umbria, Italy
Wenden, Germany
Wenings, Germany
Wroclaw, Poland
[others]
baptism; bird dealers; converts; convulsions; convulsive children; cutters; epilepsy; epileptics; farriers; hail; hailstorms; lambs; monastic life; motorways; printers; spasms; tailors
His persecutor had demanded
not that he should deny Christ, but only that he should keep silent about the truth. Nevertheless, he died for Christ. Does Christ not say: "I am the truth"? Therefore, because John shed his blood for the truth, he surely died for Christ.
from a homily by Saint Bede the Venerable on the death of John the Baptist-
Patron Saints Index: Saint John the BaptistIf the part about his name looks familiar, it's because you read it at this post about St. John the Apostle
Crikey, Macau has a patron saint? and Singapore doesn't have one. =(
All we've got is Saint Jack.Ordinarily the Church observes the day of a saint's death as his feast, because that day marks his entrance into heaven. To this rule there are two notable exceptions, the birthdays of Blessed Mary and of St. John the Baptist. All other persons were stained with original sin at birth, hence, were displeasing to God. But Mary, already in the first moment of her existence, was free from original sin (for which reason even her very conception is commemorated by a special feast), and John was cleansed of original sin in the womb of his mother.
...today's feast anticipates the feast of Christmas.
...
This is one of the few saint feast days that is connected with the temporal calendar, not the sanctoral calendar, because John the Baptist was intimately involved in Christ's work of redemption.
In Brazil, this day is known as
Diário de Sáo Joáo (Saint John's Day). The festivities are set off in the villages and countryside by the
Fogueira de Sáo Joáo (bonfire) on St. John's eve. Families and friends eat traditional foods around the fire while younger folks jump over the fire and firecrackers are exploded. The day is primarily a festival for children, who save up months in advance to purchase fireworks to set off for the day. In cities this is a day for parties and dances, with the urban dwellers dressing up in rural costumes.
St. John is the protector of lovers, so for fun, young country girls in Brazil will roll up scraps of paper, each bearing a name of a single girl and place them into a bowl of water. The first one which unfolds indicates the girl who will marry first.
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Catholic Culture: Solemnity of the Birth of St. John the Baptistthat sounds like fun! jumping over fires 8)...and of course, food is involved. This makes sense in terms of the bounty of the season, the diet of locusts and honey that sustained the Voice Crying in the Wilderness, and the banquet where Salome danced, and thus, sealed the tragic fate of the saint.
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eG Forums: Feast of St. John the Baptist [lots of recipes]
Jean
The only thing necessary for the perpetuation of evil is for good people to do nothing.
-Edmund Burke
