June 24, 2010 Solemnity of St. John the Baptist

Today is the Solemnity of St. John the Baptist, the Precursor of Jesus Christ who proclaimed His coming as the Lamb of God Who will take away the sins of the world. Jesus said of him, "John is more than a prophet. Among those who are born of woman, there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist." (Luke 7:24-28)

Zechariah, his father serving as a priest in the temple, was told by an angel of a son to be born to him at his old age and that the " son shall be great before the Lord and shall drink no wine and shall be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother's womb." Zechariah's wife, Elizabeth, was a cousin of Mary, our Blessed Virgin. Mary at the Annunciation was told of Elizabeth's condition so she "hastened" to visit her cousin in the hill country of Ein Karim several miles away from Nazareth.

I had to take a few rest stops in the climb up the summit of the hill to the house of Zechariah in Ein Karem the first time I visited in 1995. I imagined our Blessed Mother Mary catching her breath while in her rest stops, too, since she was at that time already with child. And in 1999 with my sister, Beth, I made many more rest stops while leaning against the rocky cliff which bordered the trail leading to a surprisingly well-constructed stone house. Well, Zechariah was among the affluent priests of the time! The large front yard now has a tall, long wall on which the Magnificat written in different languages is displayed.

The famous portico where Elizabeth welcomed Mary remains the focal point of interest in the house. Here was the setting for Mary's Magnificat, the song of praise and hope ever chanted by any man or woman:

" My soul doth magnify the Lord

And my spirit rejoices in God, my Savior

For He has regarded the humility of His handmaid for behold all generations shall call me blessed

For He that is mighty has done great things for me

and holy is His name

He has pulled down the mighty from their seat

and has exalted the humble

He has filled the hungry with good things

and the rich He has sent empty away

As He received Israel, His servant being mindful of His mercy

As He spoke to our Fathers, to Abraham, His seed forever.

The Bible records St. John, the Baptist, still in his mother's womb leaping up with joy at the "encounter" with Jesus also within the body of Mother Mary. This event relates to the Old Testament account of King David singing and dancing with joy as he meets the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem. A significant parallel, too, is our Blessed Mother as an Ark of the Covenant having carried Baby Jesus in her womb and the Ark of the Covenant being the receptacle of the Ten Commandments of God along with Aaron's Staff and the "manna" which nourished the Israelites during the forty-year journey in the wilderness enroute to the Promised Land.

The Louvre, the magnificent museum in Paris has the original painting of the famous "Mona Lisa" by Leonardo da Vinci. Also within its confines is Da Vinci's painting of our Blessed Virgin with the "tiny tots" John, the Baptist by her left feet with his right index finger pointing to Jesus who is huddled by her right leg with outstreched right hand towards His cousin. I was mesmerized by the undefinable joy etched in their faces that only the genius of Leonardo da Vinci can portray. Oh, the "enigmatic" smile of Mona Lisa has made it an invaluable art treasure for centuries !

Zechariah had two houses - one on a hilltop where Mary visited her cousin Elizabeth and the Magnificat was proclaimed and the other one on the lowland which is now the site of the Church of St. John, the Baptist in Ein Karem. In this church is the room and the marked spot where the saint was born. It is on the left side as one faces the altar. In the rectory is a room which is a museum of things and artifacts related to St. John. What attracted me most is a painting of St. John as a child with an angelic face and curly hair. How distant is the image of John, the Preacher as described in the Bible, as he preached the call for "repentance."

The Gospels on the days nearing the birth of Jesus focus on St. John, the Baptist, the precursor of our Messiah !