Yep, that is correct. Six months until Christmas. You know why I am thinking this today? Because it is the Solemnity of the Birth of John the Baptist.
Yes, John’s birth is celebrated six months before the Lord’s. Know why?
Because the Scriptures tell us his mother, Elizabeth was six months “farther along” than her kinswoman, Mary.
John the Baptist, the forerunner of Jesus, the bridge between the Old and New Testaments, the one who was to prepare the people and then diminish before him whom he was not worthy “to untie the laces of his sandals,” referring to Jesus Christ.
No one else’s birth is celebrated as a solemnity, save our Lord’s. That is how important John is to the plan of salvation. Even our Lady’s birth, celebrated on September 8, is a feast, not a solemnity.
Happy birthday, John the Baptist!
