On Wednesday, the we joyously celebrated the feast of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist. The Church celebrates the birth of only three saints: Our Savior, Our Lady, and the Precursor of the Lord. Usually, we celebrate the feast of a saint on the day of his death, which is his “dies natalis” into Heaven. The feast of John’s Nativity teaches us first of all that John is already holy at his birth. Indeed, John was sanctified by Jesus through Mary when he was six months old in his mother’s womb and, recognizing the Bridegroom of Israel, leapt for joy at the sound of Our Lady’s voice. John is made holy, consecrated as a prophet, and already acknowledges Jesus, while he is still in the womb. This is Jesus’s first miracle of grace, whereby John is given a passing share in the beatific vision in order to have the use of reason in the womb. Thus, he knows and loves his Savior and the Friend of the Bridegroom rejoices to hear the Bridegroom’s spiritual voice.

Many marvels mark the mystery of the Nativity of the Baptist. John is born on the longest day of the year, at the summer solstice. From the time of his birth, the days get shorter. Jesus is born on the shortest day of the year, at the winter solstice. From the time of His Birth, the days get longer. This is the cosmic meaning of the powerful mission statement of St. John: “He must increase; I must decrease.” John exists entirely to point out Jesus. He is His Precursor, who goes “before the Lord to prepare His way, to give His People knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins.” John’s birth and Jesus’s Birth are united liturgically in the use of the identical Alleluia tone for both the Nativity of John and Christmas Day Mass.

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In this Month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we especially contemplate Jesus’s great Love for us, which is symbolized by His Heart, opened for us as He slept the death of the Cross. We are moved by His Love for us. We are struck by this beautiful surprise in this dark world, that our God is Love, that He cares for us! We can even say that He thirsts for us, as He says on the Cross, “I thirst.”

Jesus’s thirst for us is His desire for our souls. It is a spiritual thirst for our love, as He says, “My son, give me your heart.” Jesus’s thirst for us creates in us a thirst for Him, a hunger for Him. This hunger and thirst can be satisfied only in the Eucharist, in which He feeds us with His very self, answering all our needs, as the Scriptures say. Jesus hungers for me, which creates in me a hunger for Him, which can only be fulfilled in the charity-filled reception of the Holy Eucharist. Thus, our devotion to the Sacred Heart leads us to hunger and thirst for Him, for His Love, for His Hunger and Thirst.

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