St. John the Baptist

Yesterday, as I said my morning prayer, I was thinking about the fact that it was the solemnity of the Birth of St. John the Baptist and also it was 6 months until Christmas Eve. It was hard to think about Christmas when it was a beautiful summer's day with bright blue skies and everything green and lush. I was remembering that I read somewhere that St. Augustine had written about the significance of St. John's birth being in summer and our dear Lord's being in winter. I knew long ago about the appropriateness of our Lord's birth being celebrated in December. It's just days after the winter solstice. The darkest day is now past and the light is increasing each day; just as Christ's birth brought light into the world.
But what I just read recently is that St. John the Baptist's birth is significant for its date too. It occurs just after the summer solstice and already the days are beginning to shorten in length. St. John is remembered as saying "I must decrease, and He must increase".
Each of us must learn St. John's lesson....to let our dear Lord increase in us, and let ourselves decrease. It doesn't mean that we lose our own personality; it means that we become the best person we were meant to be. We all have a role to play.
I always love thinking about that light when I witness a baptism. When the person is baptized their baptismal candle is lit from the Easter candle. With each baptism, the light of Christ in the world increases. We must strive to keep our little part of that light shining brightly...

A blessed Wednesday to all....