As June 24th approaches, the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, the last of the prophets, similarly advances. Along with solely the sinless Blessed Virgin Mary and our Lord Jesus Christ, the Church remembers the birth of St. John the Baptist. Together, the Church only liturgically celebrates these three holy births.
In the Traditional Catholic Calendar, June 23 is the Vigil of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist. From the propers of the Mass for June 23, the Introit occupies a place of importance, expressing comfort and hope:
Fear not, Zachary; thy prayer is heard, and thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John; and he shall be great before the Lord, and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost even from his mother's womb; and many shall rejoice at his birth. V. (Ps. 20: 2) In Thy strength, O Lord, the king shall joy; and in Thy salvation he shall rejoice exceedingly. v. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost, as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. Fear not, Zachary...
Please
see my post from last year and attempt to participate in the ancient tradition of a Bonfire this evening.
His Holiness Pope Pius XI wrote 31 encyclicals, and A Catholic Life would like to encourage the readings of these documents. Therefore, I have edited the following posts to include information about encyclicals. Many of my posts are written so as to benefit users who find the site through search engines and bookmarked visits. And, I feel that these edits will help those visitors find even more spiritually useful information.
