THE NATIVITY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST
June 24
from The Golden Legend1


John the Baptist is called by various names. He is called a prophet, a friend of the Bridegroom, a lamp, an angel, a voice, Elias, baptizer of the Saviour, herald of the Judge, precursor of the King. The tide of prophet denotes his prerogative of knowledge; friend of the Bridegroom, his prerogative of love; lamp, his piety; angel his virginal purity; voice, his particular humility; Elias, his ardent zeal; baptizer, the wondrous honour which Was his; herald, his gift of preaching; precursor, his particular office of preparation.

The birth of Saint John the Baptist was announced by an archangel in the manner we shall now set forth. King David wished, as we read in the Scholastic History, to expand and embellish the divine worship; so he appointed four-and-twenty chief priests, of whom one was higher than the others, and bore the title of prince of the priests. Sixteen of them were to be of the family of Eleazar and eight of that of Ithamar. And the four-and-twenty chief priests carried out the functions of prince of the priests for a week, each in his turn. To execute this ministry in the eighth week, the lots designated the priest Abia, of whose family at a later time, came Zachary. Now Zachary and his wife were well advanced in years, and had no children. And one day when he went into the Temple of the Lord to offer incense on the altar, and all the multitude of the people was praying without, there appeared to him the Archangel Gabriel. And Zachary, seeing him, was troubled, and fear fell upon him. But the archangel said to him: 'Fear not, Zachary, for thy prayer is heard.'

We may point out in passing that, according to the Gloss, it is proper to the good angels to reassure by kindly words those whom their appearance frightens, whereas the demons who appear in the form of angels, as soon as they see that the one to whom they appear is affrighted, are wont to aggravate the fear which they inspire.

Gabriel therefore announced to Zachary that he would have a son whose name would be called John, who would drink no wine nor strong drink, and who would precede the Lord in the spirit and power of Elias. Here John is called Elias for he was like him in many things: in his manner of living, for they were both in the desert; in their food, for they both lived abstemiously; in their clothing, for they both wore poor garments; in their office, for they were both forerunners, as Elias was the forerunner of the Judge and John that of the Saviour; they were both equally zealous, for their words burned like flaming torches. And Zachary, giving thought to his advanced age and the barrenness of his wife, doubted the angel's words, and, after the manner of the Jews, demanded a sign as proof. Thereupon the angel, to punish him for having disbelieved his message, struck him dumb, thus giving him the sign he asked.

Here we should note that it is excusable if one doubts at times when the promise is unusually large, as we read of Abraham; for when the Lord promised him that his seed should possess the land of Canaan, Abraham said, 'Lord God, whereby shall I know that I shall possess it. And the Lord answered and said: 'Take me a cow of three years old, etc.' One may also doubt when aware of one's own weakness, as Gideon did when he said: 'I beseech thee, my lord, wherewith shall I deliver Israel? Behold my family is the meanest in Manasses, and I am the least in my father's house.' And therefore be asked for a sign -,ind it was given unto him. One may also doubt the impossible in nature, as we see in the case of Sara. For when the Lord said: 'I will return and come to thee a this time, life accompanying, and Sara thy wife shall have a son, Sara laughed behind the door of the tent and said: 'After I am grown old and my lord is an old man, shall I give myself to pleasure?' How could it be then that Zachary was punished solely for his doubts, since all of these were present: the greatness of the promise, the awareness of his own weakness (for he thought himself unworthy of such a son), and the impossible in nature? We believe that this occurred for many reasons: first, as Bede writes, he who doubted with words was stricken dumb so that he might learn to believe in silence. Second, he was made dumb so that the miracle at the birth of his son might be the greater, for when John was born, his father's speech was restored, and so miracle was heaped upon miracle. Third, it was fitting that he should lose his voice, for the voice was to be born and with it the law of silence. Fourth, he himself asked the Lord for a sign, and received dumbness as a sign.

And when Zachary came out among the people, and could nor speak to them, they understood that he had seen a vision in the Temple. Then, his week of service being finished, he departed to his own house, and Elizabeth conceived a child of him. For five months she hid herself, because, as Saint Ambrose says, she was ashamed of being with child in her old age, and feared that she might be suspected of abandoning herself to the pleasures of the flesh. Yet at the same time she rejoiced that the Lord had delivered her of the shame of barrenness, for it is a shame in women not to bear the fruit for which they were joined in wedlock, and which justifies carnal intercourse,

Elizabeth was six months pregnant when the Blessed Virgin Mary, who had already conceived the Saviour, came to salute her. And when she heard the salutation of Mary, Saint John, already filled with the Holy Ghost, and being aware of the approach of the Son of God, leaped for joy in his mother's womb, as though to greet by his movements Him Whom he could not yet greet by his words. Then the Blessed Virgin dwelt with her kinswoman for three months, caring for her in her waiting; and she it was who received the newborn child in her holy hands, and performed in his behalf the duties of midwife.

The holy precursor of Christ was endowed with nine singular privileges.

His birth was announced by the same angel who announced the birth of Christ.

He leaped in the womb of his mother.

He was lifted from the ground by the Mother of God.

At his birth he loosed his father's tongue.

He originated baptism.

He proclaimed the mission of Christ.

He baptized Christ.

He was honourcd by being praised above all others by Christ.

He announced the coming of Christ to the souls in Limbo.

And by reason of these nine privileges the Lord declared him a prophet, and more than a prophet.

Explaining why he was 'more than a prophet,' Chrysostom says: 'It belongs to a prophet to receive the gift from God, but does it belong to a prophet to give to God the gift of baptism? A prophet prophesies about God, but does God prophesy about him? All the prophets foretold Christ, but of them nothing was foretold; but he not only prophesied about Christ, but the other prophets prophesied about him. All were bearers of the word, but he was the voice itself; as the voice is nearer to the word, and yet is not the word, so John was nearer to Christ, and yet was not Christ.'

John's praiseworthiness is understood from the sanctity of his life, whereof Chrysostom says: 'John's conduct made the life of all others to appear blameworthy. So, if thou seest a white garment, thou sayest: This is a very white garment! But if thou layest it upon the snow, it would appear to be soiled, although, in sooth, it is not soiled; so every man appeared unclean when compared to John.' Furthermore, his sanctity is proved by a threefold testimony. His first testimony comes from above the heavens, that is, from the Blessed Trinity itself. For the Father calls him an angel, and says of him: 'Behold I send my angel, and he shall prepare the way before my face.' But angel is the name of an office and not of a nature; and therefore he is called an angel by reason of his office, because he exercised the office of all the angels. First, of the Seraphim. Seraphim is interpreted fiery because the Seraphim set us afire, and they themselves burn more ardently with the love of God; and in Ecclesiasticus it is said of John: 'Elias the prophet stood up, as a fire, and his word burnt like a torch'; for he came in the spirit and power of Elias. Second, of the Cherubim. Cherubim is interpreted the fulness of knowledge; and John is called the morning star, because he put an end to the night of ignorance and made a beginning to the light of grace. Third, of the Thrones, whose office is to judge; this John did when he challenged Herod, saying: 'It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife.' Fourth, of the Dominations, who teach us to rule over subject; and John was loved by his subjects, and feared by kings. Fifth, of the Principalities, who teach us to revere superiors; and John said of himself: 'He that is of the earth, of the earth he is, and of the earth he speaketh,' and of Christ, 'He that cometh from Heaven is above all,' and also, 'But there shall come one mightier than 1, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to loose.' Sixth, of the Powers, by whom the harmful powers of the air are restrained. They could not harm him since he was already sanctified, but he shielded us from them when he disposed us to the baptism of penance. Seventh, of the Virtues, by whom miracles are done; and John manifested many miracles in himself. For it is a great miracle to cat wild honey and locusts, and to wear camel's-hair and such like. Eighth, of the Archangels, when he revealed greater things, such as those which regard our Redemption, as when he said: 'Behold the Lamb of God.' Ninth, of the Angels, when he announced lesser things, such as those which regard daily life, as when he said: 'Do penance,' and again, 'Do violence to no man; neither calumniate any man; and be content with your pay.

He also had the testimony of the Son, as we read in Matthew, where Christ repeatedly and wondrously commends him, saying, among other things: 'There hath not risen among them that are born of women a greater than John the Baptist.'
He likewise had the testimony of the Holy Ghost, Who spoke through his father, saying: 'And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest.'

His second testimony came from the angels and the heavenly beings, as we read in Luke, where the angel many times praises him, showing how great is his dignity before God, when he says: 'He shall be great before the Lord'; how great his sanctity, when he 'He shall drink no wine nor strong drink, and he shall, be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb'; how great his service to his neighbor, when he says: 'And he shall convert many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God.'

His third testimony came from those beneath the heavens, that is, from men, as from his father and his neighbors; whence they said: 'What an one, think ye, shall this child be? For the hand of the Lord was with him.'

Let us recall that the birthday of Saint John the Baptist is likewise the day of the death of Saint John the Evangelist. But the Church has placed the feast of the Evangelist three days after Christmas, since it was on that day that the basilica erected in his honor was consecrated, whereas the feast of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist is celebrated on the very day of his birth. We must not, however, conclude that the Evangelist is inferior to the Baptist, as the junior to the senior. And God has deigned to manifest openly that it is unseemly to try to determine which of these two saints is the greater. There were once two learned theologians, one of whom preferred Saint John the Baptist, the other Saint John the Evangelist; so that they came together one day for a formal disputation. And as both busied themselves seeking out authorities and arguments in support of their views, to each of them appeared the Saint John whom he favored, and said to him: 'We are in excellent accord in Heaven; think not therefore to dispute over us on earth!' The two doctors made this known to each other and to the people, blessing God the while.

Paul, the historian of the Longobards, a deacon of the Church of Rome and a monk of Monte Cassino, was making ready one day to bless a candle, when all at once his voice, that had always been clear, became hoarse. And in order to recover his voice, he composed in honor of Saint John the hymn Ut queant laxis resonare fibris, Mira gestorum famuli tuorum, wherein he prayed God that his voice might return, as it had to Zachary of yore.

There are some who gather the bones of dead animals on this day and bum them. This is for two reasons, as we are told by Master John Beleth. First, because this is in keeping with an ancient custom. For there are animals which are called dragons; they fly in the air, and swim in the water, and crawl upon the earth. When they flew through the air they became impassioned and dropped their seed into the wells and the coursing waters, which brought about a year of plague. To combat this, it was found helpful to build a great fire of animal bones, the smoke of which drove off the dragons. And because this was done at the time of the feast of Saint John, there are many who still keep this custom. The other reason is that in so doing, the burning of the bones of Saint John by the heretics is commemorated. Also on this day burning torches are carried because Saint John was a burning and illuminating torch. The wheel is also turned because the sun sinks in its course at that time; this denotes that the fame of John, who was taken for Christ, must also sink. He himself gives proof of this when he says: 'He must increase, but I must decrease.' This is also shown, according to the writing of Saint Augustine, in their birth and death. In their birth, for at the time of the birth of Saint John the days begin to grow shorter, whereas at the time of the birth of Christ, they grow longer; and it is written: Solstitium decimo Christum praeit atque Johannem, which means, the solstice is ten days before the birth of Christ and Saint John. It was the same in their death; Christ's body was raised up on the Cross, the body of John was shortened by a head.

The same Paul relates, in his History of the Longobards, that one day a robber opened the tomb in which the Longobard king Rotharich had been interred by his own order, in the church of Saint John the Baptist. Thereupon Saint John appeared to him and said: 'Since thou hast dared to lay hands on these treasures which were under my care, thou canst no longer come into my church!' And thus it came about; for every time that this man sought to enter the church of Saint John, an unseen hand dealt him such a blow on the throat that he was forced to withdraw.


1. From: The Golden Legend of Jacobus de Voragine, trans. and adapted by Ryan, Granger and Helmut Ripperger. (Arno Press: Longmans, Green & Co) 1941. pp. 321-327.