Nativity of St. John the Baptist
Saint John the Baptist is the only saint besides the Virgin Mary whose birth is kept as a feast: it falls six months before Christmas, exactly as the Gospel of Luke places his conception six months before that of Jesus. The aged Zechariah, struck dumb in the temple for doubting the angel's promise, recovered his voice on the eighth day to write 'His name is John' and to sing the Benedictus that the Church still chants at Lauds every morning. John leapt in his mother's womb when Mary entered the house, the first prophet of the new covenant before he could speak.