June 24, 2026
Solemnity of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist
Mass during the Day
Lectionary: 587
Reading I
Hear me, O coastlands,
listen, O
distant peoples.
The LORD called me from birth,
from my
mother’s womb he gave me my name.
He made of me a sharp-edged sword
and
concealed me in the shadow of his arm.
He made me a polished arrow,
in his
quiver he hid me.
You are my servant, he said to me,
Israel,
through whom I show my glory.
Though I thought I had toiled in vain,
and for
nothing, uselessly, spent my strength,
yet my reward is with the LORD,
my
recompense is with my God.
For now the LORD has spoken
who formed
me as his servant from the womb,
that Jacob may be brought back to him
and Israel
gathered to him;
and I am made glorious in the sight of the LORD,
and my God
is now my strength!
It is too little, he says, for you to be my servant,
to raise up
the tribes of Jacob,
and restore
the survivors of Israel;
I will make you a light to the nations,
that my
salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 139:1b-3, 13-14ab,
14c-15
R.
(14) I praise you, for I am wonderfully made.
O LORD, you have probed me, you know me:
you know
when I sit and when I stand;
you understand
my thoughts from afar.
My journeys and my rest you scrutinize,
with all my
ways you are familiar.
R. I praise you for I am
wonderfully made.
Truly you have formed my inmost being;
you knit me
in my mother’s womb.
I give you thanks that I am fearfully, wonderfully made;
wonderful
are your works.
R. I praise you, for I am
wonderfully made.
My soul also you knew full well;
nor was my
frame unknown to you
When I was made in secret,
when I was
fashioned in the depths of the earth.
R. I praise you, for I am
wonderfully made.
Reading II
In those days, Paul said:
“God raised up David as king;
of him God testified,
I have found David, son of Jesse, a man after my own heart;
he will carry out my every wish.
From this man’s descendants God, according to his promise,
has brought to Israel a savior, Jesus.
John heralded his coming by proclaiming a baptism of repentance
to all the people of Israel;
and as John was completing his course, he would say,
‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not he.
Behold, one is coming after me;
I am not worthy to unfasten the sandals of his feet.’
“My brothers, sons of the family of Abraham,
and those others among you who are God-fearing,
to us this word of salvation has been sent.”
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
You, child, will be called prophet of the Most High,
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
When the time arrived for
Elizabeth to have her child
she gave birth to a son.
Her neighbors and relatives heard
that the Lord had shown his great mercy toward her,
and they rejoiced with her.
When they came on the eighth day to circumcise the child,
they were going to call him Zechariah after his father,
but his mother said in reply,
“No. He will be called John.”
But they answered her,
“There is no one among your relatives who has this name.”
So they made signs, asking his father what he wished him to be called.
He asked for a tablet and wrote, “John is his name,”
and all were amazed.
Immediately his mouth was opened, his tongue freed,
and he spoke blessing God.
Then fear came upon all their neighbors,
and all these matters were discussed
throughout the hill country of Judea.
All who heard these things took them to heart, saying,
“What, then, will this child be?”
For surely the hand of the Lord was with him.
The child grew and became strong in spirit,
and he was in the desert until the day
of his manifestation to Israel.
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/062426-Day
Commentary on Isaiah
49:1-6; Acts 13:22-26; Luke 1:57-66,80
He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all
might believe through him. (John 1:7)
John the Baptist played a unique role in the history of God’s
people. He acted as the bridge between the Hebrew and Christian Testaments. He
basically belongs to the former, but was present at the beginnings of the
latter. At the same time, he died before Jesus had completed his work, and
before the Church came into existence.
Jesus praised his greatness, but also said that even the
least in the Kingdom was greater than he. Although he knew and proclaimed Jesus
as the one for whom all were waiting, and the thongs of whose sandals he was
not worthy to loose, he never saw Jesus as his Risen Lord, a privilege granted
to the very least of the baptised.
His primary title is Precursor. His mission was to go ahead
of the Messiah and proclaim his coming. As he said modestly himself, Jesus must
increase while he himself must decrease. The success of his mission would
eventually make him redundant. And that is still the role of the missionary
today—to plant the church and then withdraw, leaving it in the hands of the new
local community.
Many parallels
Today we celebrate the birth of John the Baptist. In Luke’s Gospel, there are
many parallels between the birth of John and that of Jesus. Both births were
announced in advance: in John’s case to his father Zechariah, and in Jesus’
case to his mother Mary.
The birth of John was a special blessing to his parents, who
were already advanced in age, and particularly to Elizabeth. So when the birth
took place, it was a special occasion of rejoicing among relatives and
neighbours. When they:
…heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy to
her…they rejoiced with her.
In this time, everyone thought it was a shame for a woman
not to give a child, especially a son, to her husband.
In accordance with custom, the child was circumcised on the
eighth day after birth. This ritual showed that the child belonged to God’s own
people. It was also the day on which the child was officially named. Also in
keeping with their culture’s traditions, it was expected that the child would
be called Zechariah after his father. But Elizabeth interjected to say that he
should be called John. This came as a surprise as there was no one of that name
in the family.
The father was then consulted. Because he had doubted the
angel’s words at the announcement of his son’s conception, Zechariah’s ability
to speak had been taken from him. He was possibly also deaf, because the people
communicated with him by signs. He replied by writing on a tablet:
His name is John.
This was the name the angel said should be given to the
new-born child. This act of obedience on the part of Zechariah resulted in his
speech coming back and his glorifying God, and as a result:
Fear came over all their neighbors, and all these things
were talked about throughout the entire hill country of Judea.
The whole event was clearly understood as a direct
intervention of God. And people began to wonder about the child in front of
them. They asked:
What then will this child become?
All the circumstances of his birth indicated that he was no
ordinary child and that God had a special mission for him.
In the desert
In words similar to those used of Jesus, we are told that the boy grew up and
matured. Probably his elderly parents died while he was young and he went to
live in the Desert of Judea, which lies between Jerusalem and the Dead Sea. And
it was there, along the banks of the River Jordan, that he began his public
preaching. He would have been about 30 years of age, the same age as his
cousin, Jesus.
His calling to serve the Lord is expressed in the passage
from Isaiah in the First Reading:
The Lord called me before I was born;
while I was in my mother’s womb he named me.
His unexpected birth was revealed to his father and his name
given to him.
He made my mouth like a sharp sword…he made me a polished
arrow…
John was an effective prophet and herald. The reading also
implies the suffering and frustrations that were part of John’s life. In the
end he was thrown into prison and, on the whim of Herod’s illegitimate wife,
executed. But his life was not in vain. He became, in the words of the reading:
…a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to
the end of the earth.
John was the last, and in some ways the greatest, of the
Hebrew Testament prophets. As the preface for today’s Mass says, he was chosen:
…from all the prophets to show the world its redeemer,
the Lamb of sacrifice.
It was he, who in John’s Gospel, points out Jesus to his
disciples as the “Lamb of God”.
Apart from preaching a message of repentance and conversion
to the large number of people who came to hear him, he:
…baptised Christ, the giver of baptism, in waters made
holy by the one who was baptised.
He is presented as a man of total honesty and integrity.
Perhaps it was this which attracted so many to come and hear him. And because
of this, he ultimately lost his life when he denounced King Herod, who had
married his brother’s wife. He was:
…found worthy of a martyr’s death, his last and greatest
act of witness to your Son.
A model for all of us
John the Baptist’s life has a special meaning for all of us. We are, through
our baptism, also called to be precursors of the Lord. Our baptism imposes on
us an obligation to share our faith and to give witness to the Way of Jesus,
both in word and action. There is no other way by which the average person can
come to know and experience the love of Christ.
It is well put by Paul, writing to the church at Rome a long
time ago:
…everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be
saved. But how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how
are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to
hear without someone to proclaim him? And how are they to proclaim him unless
they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring
good news!” (Rom 10:13-16)
In that sense, we are all called to be ‘preachers’. Our
lives individually and collectively are meant to send out a message and an
invitation—an invitation to come and join us and share our experience of faith,
love and fellowship.
If we are honest, we know that we do not do that nearly
enough and, in fact, often give an opposite message altogether. As the
philosopher-unbeliever Nietzsche said:
“If they want me to be Christian, they will have to look as
if they are saved.”
The signals we send out as individuals, as families, as
parish, are really the only way that people who are searching for meaning in
their lives may be led to find that meaning in the gospel. Let us ask John the
Baptist today to help us by the way we live our lives to clear a path which
will draw people closer to knowing and experiencing Christ.
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Wednesday,
June 24, 2026
Solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist
Statio
Prayer of Cardinal Mercier to the Holy
Spirit
Oh God, who has instructed your
faithful, enlightening their hearts with the light of the Holy Spirit, grant us
that in the same Spirit we may have the desire to do good and to enjoy always
his comfort.
May there be Glory, adoration, love, and
blessing to You Eternal Divine Spirit, who has brought to earth for us the
Savior of our souls. And may there be glory and honor to His most adorable
Heart Who loves us with an infinite love. Oh Holy Spirit, soul of my soul, I
adore You: enlighten me, guide me, strengthen me, console me, teach me what I
should do, give me your orders.
I promise to submit myself to all that will happen to me,
allowed by You: I ask only that I may know Your Will.
Lectio
Gospel Reading - Luke 1: 57-66, 80
The time came for Elizabeth to
have her child, and she gave birth to a son; and when her neighbors and
relations heard that the Lord had lavished on her his faithful love, they
shared her joy. Now it happened that on the eighth day they came to circumcise
the child; they were going to call him Zechariah after his father, but his
mother spoke up. 'No,' she said, 'he is to be called John.' They said to her,
'But no one in your family has that name,' and made signs to his father to find
out what he wanted him called. The father asked for a writing-tablet and wrote,
'His name is John.' And they were all astonished. At that instant his power of
speech returned, and he spoke and praised God. All their neighbors were filled
with awe and the whole affair was talked about throughout the hill country of
Judaea. All those who heard of it treasured it in their hearts. 'What will this
child turn out to be?' they wondered. And indeed, the hand of the Lord was with
him.
Meanwhile the child grew up and his spirit grew strong. And he
lived in the desert until the day he appeared openly to Israel.
Meditatio
Key to the Reading
This passage of the Gospel forms part of the
so-called accounts of the infancy of Jesus. In a particular way this text
follows the scene of the Visitation of Mary “in the house of Zechariah” (Lk 1:
40) after the event of the Annunciation of the Angel, the messenger of the new
creation.
In fact, the Annunciation inaugurates in a
joyful way the fulfilment of God’s promise to His People (Lk 1: 26-38). The joy
of the new times, which filled Mary, now inundates the heart of Elizabeth. She
rejoices with the announcement brought by Mary (Lk 1: 41). Mary, on the other
hand, “magnifies the Lord” (Lk 1: 46) because He has worked great things in
her, just as He has worked great marvels for His people in need of salvation.
The expression “the time came” reminds us that this reality
does not only strike
Elizabeth about to give birth but reveals also something of
God’s project. In fact,
Saint Paul tells us that when the completion
of the time came, God sent His Only Begotten Son “born of a woman, born a
subject of the Law, to redeem the subjects of the Law, so that we could receive
adoption of sons” of God (Gal 4: 4). In the Gospel Jesus in fact, speaks about the
completion of times, especially in the Gospel of John. Two of these times are
the wedding at Cana (Jn 2: 1-12) and the agony on the cross where Jesus
exclaims that “all is fulfilled” (Jn 19: 30). In the fulfilment of the times
Jesus inaugurates an era of salvation. The birth of John the Baptist
inaugurates this time of salvation. In fact, at the arrival of the Messiah he
exults and leaps in the womb of his mother, Elizabeth (Lk 1: 44). Later on, he
will define himself as the friend of the bridegroom (Jesus) who exults and
rejoices because of the event of the wedding with the bride, the Church (Jn 3:
29).
The son will not be named as his
father Zechariah, but John. Zechariah reminds us that God does not forget His
people. In fact, his name means “God remembers”. His son will now be called
“God remembers”, because God’s promises were being fulfilled. The prophetic
mission of John has to indicate God’s mercy. In fact, he will be called
Johanan, that is “God is mercy”. This mercy is manifested in the visit to the
People, precisely “as he had promised by the mouth of his holy prophets of
ancient times” (Lk 1: 67-70). Thus, the name indicates the mission of the one
about to be born. Zechariah will write the name of his son on a tablet so that
all could see with admiration (Lk 1: 63). This tablet is the echo of another
inscription, written by Pilate to be fixed on the cross of Jesus. This
inscription revealed the identity of the mission of the Crucified: “Jesus, the
Nazarene, King of the Jews” (Jn 19: 19). This writing also provoked the
admiration of those who were in Jerusalem for the feast.
John is the precursor of Jesus
in everything. Already since his birth and childhood he points out to Christ.
“Who will this child be? He is “the voice which cries out in the desert” (Jn 1:
23), impelling all to prepare the way of the Lord. He is not the Messiah (Jn 1:
20), but he indicates this with his preaching and above all with his life style
of asceticism in the desert. Meanwhile the child grew up and his spirit grew strong.
He lived in the desert until the day he appeared openly to Israel”. (Lk 1: 80).
Questions to Direct the Meditation
•
What has struck you in this passage and in the
reflection?
•
John identifies himself as the friend of the
bridegroom. According to you, what is the meaning of this image?
•
John the Baptist has always been seen by the
Church as its type. He is the one who prepares the way for the Lord. Does this
have some relevance for our daily life?
Oratio
Let us bless the Lord together with Zechariah (Lk 1:
68-79)
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, for
he has visited his people, he has set them free, and he has established for us
a saving power in the House of his servant David, just as he proclaimed, by the
mouth of his holy prophets from ancient times, that he would save us from our
enemies and from the hands of all those who hate us, and show faithful love to
our ancestors, and so keep in mind his holy covenant.
This was the oath he swore to our father
Abraham, that he would grant us, free from fear, to be delivered from the hands
of our enemies, to serve him in holiness and uprightness in his presence, all
our days.
And you, little child, you shall be called
Prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare a way for
him, to give his people knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their
sins, because of the faithful love of our God in which the rising Sun has come
from on high to visit us, to give light to those who live in darkness and the
shadow dark as death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace.
Contemplatio
Let us all together adore the mercy and the goodness
of God repeating in silence: Glory be to the Father, and to the Son and to the
Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be, world without
end. Amen
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