Nativity of Saint John the Baptist

Biography

His birth was miraculous, because an angel announced it to his elderly parents. He surely received a careful Jewish-style education, since his father, Zechariah, was an Israelite priest. This, inspired by the Holy Spirit, had predicted that John "would be a prophet of the Most High and would go before the Lord to prepare his ways." Lk. 1,76 Following his extraordinary prophetic vocation, John retired from a very young age to the desert, where he led a life of great austerity: he wore camel skins, ate locusts and wild honey and, above all, he lived dedicated to prayer. Very soon, around the year 26 or 27 of our era, he began to preach sincere conversion to God, not only to open and public sinners, but also to secret sinners, who considered themselves blameless, such as the Pharisees and doctors of the law. The crowds came in droves to listen to his preaching and as a sign of sincere conversion they were baptized, that is, they received a bath from the hands of John in the waters of the Jordan, to symbolize the sincere desire to be purified from their sins. Jesus Christ also went to be baptized by John. This, illuminated by the Holy Spirit, recognized him for who he was, the Messiah, the true Son of God. Trembling, the Baptist refused to baptize him. But Jesus insisted out of his deep humility and John resigned himself to do so. When the heavens opened and the Divine Spirit descended in the form of a dove on the Messiah, and the voice of the Father was heard; John felt himself at the height of happiness: the Messiah, Son of God, had manifested himself splendor before his eyes and those of his disciples. Several of these, such as Andrew, Simon, John, Philip, Nathanael, followed Jesus and received the new baptism "in the Spirit and in fire," a true baptism that was not a symbol, like that of John, but a sacrament that forgives sins and makes children of God. John the Baptist testified with his life and death that without Penance and genuine conversion it is not possible to believe in Jesus the Christ, the Son of God.