Today is the first day of summer for those of us in the northern hemisphere; it is the longest day of the year and we enjoy the most
light of of the sun of the entire year. We are in the season of
LIGHT and we bask in the glow of our Brother Sun ("
Canticle of the Sun" written by
St. Francis of Assisi.)
After today, little-by-little, imperceptibly, the day
light begins to decrease ever-so gradually until December 21st. For eons there have been celebrations of this day by peoples of every culture and religious/spiritual belief and it certainly continues to this day. I'm sure you'll see national and local news stories noting the day itself and some kind of activities going on celebrating our longest day.
It is commonly known that the early Christians placed significant feast days near the pagan feasts and rituals, most notably Christmas. Since we do not know the exact birth date of Jesus, the early believers set a date just a few days after the
Winter Solstice to honor and celebrate the birth of Christ -- bringing
light into the midst of the season of darkness, following the darkest day of the year.
I mention this because I think it is less commonly known that the early church also set one of its earliest feast day celebrations, that of
John the Baptist, just a few days after the Summer Solstice. This feast coincides with the supposition that John was born approximately six months before Jesus. When Mary was pregnant with Jesus she learned that her older cousin Elizabeth was also with child. Mary went to visit Elizabeth and at their meeting, baby John "leaped" in the womb of his mother Elizabeth and she "
was filled with the Holy Spirit" (
Luke 1:41). The "
light of the world," who was still in his mother's womb, brought about the sign of new life in the leaping, joyfull movement of little John, and his mother, being filled with the Spirit, recognized who was in their presence.
I find it very interesting and
enlightening to learn that, while the Church honors most of her saints by the date of their deaths, with John the Baptist, she chose the time of his birth to celebrate, remember, recognize, and honor.
Let us, on this special day and this special season, celebrate, remember, recognize, and honor the
light, the first gift of the Creator, who spoke the words, "
Let there be light"; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good." (
Genesis 1:2) Let us reflect one who said of himself, "
I am the light of the world." (
John 8:12) And let us celebrate with our brothers and sisters all around the world the one St. Francis named our "brother sun."
Happy Solstice!
Happy Summer!
Let your
light sparkle and shine!
