Catholic Activity: Ideas for the Feast of the Birth St. John the Baptist

Suggestions for spiritual practices in the family on the feast of the Birth of St. John the Baptist.

DIRECTIONS

Every day of the year gives you a special opportunity to instill a great religious appreciation in your children, to broaden their knowledg of Our Lord, the Blessed Mother and the saints, and to strengthn their dedication to the laws of God and the Church. Each day is set aside by the Church to honor a particular event in the life of Our Lord or the Blessed Virgin, or to honor a particular saint. Consulting your religious calendar and one of the many books recounting the lives of the saints you can discuss these events with your children, stressing the qualities in the saints' lives which we might cultivate.

Today is the feast of St. John the Baptist. Modern Catholics lack the sense of devotion to this saint that was evidenced in earlier times. So great was the regard for the son of Elizabeth who baptized Our Lord that priests were once permitted to celebrate three Masses on his feast day — a privilege they had at no other time except Christmas. The story of the life of this saint interests children, from his birth to his beheading at the request of Salome.

Activity Source: Catholic Family Handbook, The by Rev. George A. Kelly, Random House, Inc., New York, 1959