I have never heard a sermon in my long years as a Catholic on this subject. John here is called by the Son of God the greatest man who ever lived, greater than all the patriarchs of the Old Testament, the apostles, the martyrs, the doctors of the Church and even, St. Joseph. He was the only person conceived in original sin but born pure and full of the Holy Spirit because of the Visitation of Mary to Elizabeth.
In the Byzantine Church, today is a great feast. Happy Feast Day to the Co-Cathedral of St. John in Valletta, Malta.
