Today, June 24
Feast of the Day
No feast of the day
Saint of the Day
The birth of John the Baptist was one of the earliest feasts to be named to a particular day on the Church calendar. June 24 was chosen as it is six months before the birth of Christ. With its proximity to the summer solstice, it signifies the waning of the light, while the birth of Jesus near the winter solstice marks the coming of the light. On the occasion of his birth, Elizabeth and Zechariah, his parents, called him John in accordance with an angel's instruction to his father. In disbelief that they would have a son, Zechariah asked for a sign and was struck dumb, but with the giving of the name, his speech was restored and Luke records that he responded with the Benedictus ("Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel..."), the great hymn of love and thanksgiving still recited in the liturgy of the hours.©2011 Living with Christ, Novalis - Bayard Press Canada Inc., http://www.livingwithchrist.ca/. Reprinted with permission.
Readings of the Day
Book of Isaiah 49,1-6.
Hear me, O islands, 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.
Psalms 139(138),1-3.13-14ab.14c-15.
O LORD, you have probed me and 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. 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. 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.
Acts of the Apostles 13,22-26.
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, children of the family of Abraham, and those others among you who are God-fearing, to us this word of salvation has been sent".
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 1,57-66.80.
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.
Daily Reflection
On this day the great Forerunner comes into the world, issuing from Elizabeth's barren womb. He is the greatest of the prophets; none other has arisen like him, for he is the lamp who comes directly before the greatest of lights and the voice who goes before the Word. To Christ he leads the Church, his bride, and prepares a chosen people for the Lord, purifying them by water in preparation for the Spirit. From Zachary this young plant is born, the most beautiful of the sons of the desert, herald of repentance, the one who purifies with water those who have strayed, and who, as forerunner, bears the message of the resurrection even to the dwelling of the dead and intercedes for our souls. From your mother's womb, O blessed John, you have been prophet and forerunner of Christ: you leapt for joy on seeing the Queen approaching the servant, bearing before you Him whom, without mother, the Father conceives from all eternity. O you, who were born from a barren woman and an aged man according to the promise of the Lord: beseech him to take pity on our souls. (Biblical references : Mt 11,11; Jn 5,35; Mt 3,3; Jn 3,29; Lk 1,17; 3,16; Mk 6,28; Lk 1,40; 1,13)