St. John the Baptist Vigil of the Nativity

June 24 is the Nativity of St. John the Baptist. In the 1962 proper of the saints, June 23 is honored as the Vigil of St. John the Baptist. That was an important day because it put the birth of St. John the Baptist in the context of the Old Testament prophecies too, just as Jesus Christ was. Here's the Lesson for that day, with an explanatory introduction:

The Church applies to St. John the history of Jeremia, who was also sanctified from his mother's womb to be a Prophet of God. Jeremia was born about 650 BC of a priestly family from the little village of Anathoth, near Jerusalem. He was called to "active duty" as a prophet while very young in 628 BC, for the King Josia.

From Jeremia the Prophet, 1: 4-10

In those days the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you, a prophet to the nations I appointed you. "Ah, Lord God!" I said, "I know not how to speak; I am too young." But the Lord answered me, Say not "I am too young." To whomever I send you, you shall go; whatever I command you, you shall speak. Have no fear before them, because I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord. Then the Lord extended his hand and touched my mouth, saying, See, I place my words in your mouth! This day I set you over nations and over kingdoms, to root up and to tear down, to destroy and to demolish, to build and to plant.

Here are the next two lines from that passage, relating the first thing the young Jeremia saw after God spoke to him:

The word of the Lord came to me with the question: What do you see, Jeremia? "I see a branch of the watching-tree," I replied. Then the Lord said to me: Well have you seen, for I am watching to fulfill my word.

So you can see why St. John the Baptist, who was aware of the pre-born Jesus Christ while John himself was still in the womb, is very much modeled after Jeremia the Prophet, who spoke to God before he knew "how to speak."

By the way, the "watching-tree" is the almond tree, which was the first tree to bloom in the springtime in the Holy Land. That is why one of its nicknames is the "watching tree," which comes from a play on words in Hebrew, implying that it does not really sleep over winter, just watches for the right time. So it is with the Lord and his prophets.

Notice also Jeremia 1 is the origin of that quotation from the Lord God, "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you," that informs everyone that life and soul of a human being exists in the pre-born infant, putting to lie all those who say otherwise. The Lord God is declaring here that even before the infant is fully formed in the womb, the infant is a human being known to God and in possession of their eternal soul. This scripture is much quoted, correctly, by the pro-life movement.