Sunday, September 23, 2007

The Conception Of Saint John The Baptist

The Conception Of Saint John The Baptist.

Rejoice, O barren one, who formerly did not bear a child, for you have conceived the Lamp of the Sun, who is to illumine the whole universe darkened by blindness. Rejoice, O Zachariah and cry out with boldness: “The prophet of the Most High desires to be born !”

Podoben: “The angelic choir ...
Great Zachariah rejoices with his wife, the far-famed Elizabeth, for she has fittingly conceived John the Forerunner, whom an angel announced in gladness; and whom we rightly honor as an initiate of the grace of God.

3 comments:

Odysseus said...

Recently, pondering the good fortune my wife and I have in fertility, I have thought how it must irk so many infertile couples to see, not us, but those who choose to contracept or abort and remain chiildless, while these childless couples want nothing more than to conceive.

And these passages from scripture show us how important it is, not merely to have an abiding faith, but to always be open to the possibilities God may give. Here, the unlooked for child in their old age is not a burden, but a gift. And he was a gift not only to them but to all of us.

Odysseus said...

Wow, this feast wasn't even on our old calendar, though it is mentioned as Sept. 24 in the Catholic Encyclopedia.

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