The Feast Day of St. John the Baptist

Picture: TED ALJIBE/AFP

St. John the Baptist is honored with festivals, parades, and high mass on his birth anniversary celebrated by the Catholic Church.  The Feast Day of St. John the Baptist takes a tradition for annual ceremony in The Philippines with a notion that commemorating the way their patron saint disguised himself when he baptized Jesus will lead to blessings for a bountiful farming harvest. The Taong Putik people dress in mud and dried banana leaves to replicate, elsewhere pig roasts (dressed in costumes for parade) are an iconic part of the day.  Feasts are marked with the traditional dousing of water, more akin to actual water fights and fun, to reminisce the baptism by John the Baptist performed in the Jordan River.

Picture: JAY DIRECTO/AFP

The Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Charleston, SC

Pope Francis spoke words at mass in the chapel of his residence, Vatican’s Saint Martha guesthouse, this morning praising John the Baptist as an important man that many “people sought him out and followed him,” and encouraged the way John the Baptist stepped aside to Jesus once he lead others to him. This was emphasized throughout his homily for the Feast of John the Baptist’s birth, “A Christian does not announce himself; he announces another, prepares the way for another: the Lord,” said Pope Francis this morning, June 24, 2014.  

St. John the Baptist is one of two saints, Blessed Mary being the other, the birth is observed by the Church versus the normal feast being marked by the day of the saint’s death, when they made entrance to heaven.

Bartolome Esteban Murillo, St. John the Baptist as a Child c. 1665

Three Kings Day.

The 12 Days of Christmas come to an end Monday, January 6, 2014 as Feast of the Epiphany is celebrated by Christians. The feast is also known as Three Kings Day, and marks the revelation of the birth of Jesus.  The new season of Epiphany begins today, just shy of the new year.

The Magi- The Three Wise Men Gaspar, Melchior, and Balthasar- saw the promised child as a gift, due to their sharing of prophecy they were instructed by King Herod to find the Messiah born to Bethlehem.  A long distance was ventured by The Magi in order to bow and worship to Jesus and present him with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. The Gospel of Matthew 2:1-12 details the story of the Three Wise Men.

Pope Francis delivered a prayer service for Feast of the Epiphany Mass and greeted pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square.  

AP / Gregorio Borgia

The Vatican reported comments from Pope Francis after mass, "I would like to tell all those who feel far from God and the church -- and I say this respectfully to those who are afraid or indifferent: The Lord calls you and wants you to be part of his people and does so with great respect and love!" Francis said.

Today is a Holy Day for Catholics around the world.  Traditional blessing of the home, kings cake, and reenactment plays by children are common celebrations of honor of Three Kings Day.

The Feast of the Immaculate Conception

The Feast of the Immaculate Conception Sunday December 8 has been honored in Rome by Pope Francis visiting Piazza di Spagna to pray, in tradition, before the statue of Mary. During the celebration of the Marian Feast, a Holy Day of obligation for Catholics and a national holiday in Italy, Pope Francis included Mother Mary in his Sunday Angelus by saying to all in St. Peter’s square, “On this feast day, then, contemplating our Immaculate Mother, we also recognize our true destiny, our deepest vocation: to be loved, to be transformed by love.” Pope Francis states in his message the Immaculate Conception of Mother Mary "...is the fruit of God's love which saves the world."

Mary with willingness to become the Mother of God is considered to be, “Full of Grace”, was free of Original Sin since the moment of her conception and remained sinless her entire life.  Former Popes have traveled to pray before the monument of Mary, dated December 8, 1854, Pope Pius IX officially declared the Immaculate Conception a dogma of the Church.  

Pope Francis 

Pope Francis went on to visit with particular crowd attendees according to Vatican Radio, as he called on those present just moments before to, “never be indifferent to the cry of the poor, the sick, the elderly, of children, and every human life.” The month of December hosts a multitude of holy days of obligation in the Catholic church.  The religious days of Advent before Christmas are full of joy and love of the Virgin Mary.  In Italy, most shops will remain open since this feast day did not fall during the business week.  Pope Francis concluded his message today with a wish for all to have a good lunch.

Easter Sunday

Vatican City photo courtesy of ds-lands.com

The holiday of new beginnings could not be more appropriately timed with the two words, "Habemus Papam", delivered from the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. Easter is a holiday to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus and to spread universal joy for our salvation. The world's Catholic community is filled with hope and a renewed ambition for faith through the installation of Pope Francis. Easter Sunday should be celebrated with extra special attention through traditional Italian food served given all of the recent events in Vatican City.

While certainly it is not a requirement to be Catholic or Italian to feast on the decadent Italian Easter Pie, known as Pizzagaina, a pie filled to the maximum with various Italian meats and cheeses served on Easter Sunday is meant to be enjoyed by all. The Easter Pie is a perfect community dish, for its massive size and for its palatable components. There are multiple versions of the Italian Easter Pie, even sweet variations, mostly handed down within families (particularly from Nonna- grandmother in Italian), with a recipe to their meat and cheese liking. For a lovely and authentic rendition follow the Pizzagaina recipe here on Always Order Dessert, which also provides suggestions for adapting the recipe to taste preference and accessibility. 
Easter has been represented with candy, eggs, and bunnies in the modern versions of celebration, but can be wrangled back to traditional with another nod to Italy by serving gelato. Spring, new growth, and a fresh attitude towards an Easter Sunday menu align with serving a simple scoop of gelato to guests. For the theme and thrill that children have come to experience in connection to holidays, gelato in the form of an Easter egg shaped cake can be served to adhere to those visions. Spend Easter Sunday with an expanded guest list and traditional Italian menu components and dive into sharing the community celebration that is well deserved this year.

A Pino Gelato Easter Cake