They had no child

The first commands given to humans were to be fruitful and multiply and to have dominion over the plant and animal kingdoms and the earth itself.

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Children, especially sons, are “a gift from the Lord, the fruit of the womb, a reward” (Ps 127:3).Hence, it is normal for an infertile person to have a deep, unfertile longing. Infertility can cause a lot of grief and a profound sense of loss.

The priestly couple Zechariah and Elizabeth have longed for a son to continue Zechariah’s priestly line and to bury them when they die (indeed a sacred duty), but Elizabeth’s barrenness and the passage of time have rendered this wish unfulfilled.

The couple have long resigned to their fate in sorrow. Zechariah and Elizabeth remind us of the venerable patriarch Abraham and his barren wife Sarah.

After long years of waiting, almost in desperation—this son finally comes: in Isaac and in John the Baptist.