Solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist
In preparing for this reflection, I came across an excerpt from the renowned liturgist of the first half of the 20th century: Fr. Pius Parsch.
“Today’s feast anticipates the feast of Christmas.”
Why? Parsch explains: “Taking an overall view, we keep during the course of the year only two mysteries, that of Christ’s Incarnation and that of His Redemption. The Redemption mystery is the greater of the two; the Incarnation touches the human heart more directly. To the Redemption mystery the entire Easter season is devoted, from Septuagesima until Pentecost; and likewise, every Sunday of the year, because Sunday is Easter in miniature.
“The Christmas season has for its object the mystery of God-become-Man …In a sense, then, we are celebrating Christ’s incarnation today. The birth of Jesus is observed on December 25 at the time of the winter solstice, while the birth of His forerunner is observed six months earlier at the time of the summer solstice.
“Christmas is a ‘light’ feast … We Christians should be the light of the world.”
Excerpted from The Church’s Year of Grace, Pius Parsch.
Reflection by Archbishop Jerome Hanus, OSB
Posted in Articles for Ordinary Time, Daily Reflections