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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. Luke
1:65–66
John the Baptist was formed by the hand of the Lord. Saint Thomas
Aquinas goes so far as to say that John was sanctified in the womb
of his mother, Elizabeth, as is written: “He will be filled with
the holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb” (Luke 1:15). From the
moment that the Blessed Virgin Mary greeted Elizabeth and John
leaped for joy, the hand of the Lord was upon John, making him holy
and leading him to the fulfillment of God’s holy will.
John’s early life is not recorded for us, other than in the passage
quoted above. We are told that he “grew and became strong in
spirit, and he was in the desert until the day of his manifestation
to Israel.” We should see in this passage the truth that John was
not only sanctified within the womb of his mother but that,
throughout his childhood and on into adulthood, he remained deeply
united to God and was filled with the Holy Spirit.
Today we honor one particular aspect of John’s life—his birth. We
know that he was blessed to not only be born into the blessed
family of Elizabeth and Zechariah but that the Blessed Virgin Mary,
the Mother of God, was also his relative and was present at his
birth. Zechariah, his father, gave him the name “John” even though
it would have been the custom to call him Zechariah after his
father. Zechariah did this in obedience to the Archangel Gabriel,
who appeared to him prior to John’s birth and instructed him to do
so.
Great mystery and excitement surrounded the birth of John, and
there is little doubt that those who were present at his birth
would have been caught up in the intrigue and hope of who he would
become. And John didn’t disappoint. It was of him that Jesus one
day would say, “I tell you, among those born of women, no one is
greater than John…” (Luke 7:28).
Though you may not have had the privilege of being sanctified in
the womb of your mother, or to have had your father receive a
revelation from the Archangel Gabriel prior to your birth, you are,
nonetheless, called to be guided by the hand of the Lord each and
every day. God wants you to become “strong in spirit” so that you
can fulfill the unique will given to you. We honor the great
saints, in part, because they give us an example of how to live.
For that reason, we must see in each of their lives the model to
which we must conform. The primary witness set by Saint John the
Baptist is that he was unwaveringly obedient to God and to being
formed by His hand. The result was the glorious fulfillment of his
unique mission in life, all the way to giving his life as a
martyr.
Reflect, today, upon the very real fact that, though you were not
sanctified in the womb, you were sanctified by Baptism. From there,
you were strengthened by the Spirit through Confirmation and are
regularly fed by the Most Holy Eucharist. In many ways, you are
just as blessed as John. Reflect upon the simple yet profound fact
that God wants to use you for His holy mission. He gives to you
some particular mission He has not entrusted to another. Say “Yes”
to that mission today so that you, too, will be seen as “great” in
the Kingdom of Heaven.
Lord of all greatness, You sanctified Saint John the Baptist in
the womb, and You continued to pour forth Your grace upon him
throughout his life. He responded to You and fulfilled his glorious
mission. I thank You for the sanctification given to me by my
Baptism and strengthened through Confirmation and the Holy
Eucharist. Help me to be open to all the graces You wish to bestow
so that I may fulfill the unique mission given to me. Jesus, I
trust in You.
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Featured images above: Birth of St John the Baptist
By Luca Giordano, via Wikimedia Commons
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