The Martyrdom of Saint John the Baptist – Memorial
29 AUGUST 2014
“The head of John the Baptist.” 
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 6:17-29.
Herod was the one who had John arrested and bound in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, whom he had married.
John had said to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”
Herodias harbored a grudge against him and wanted to kill him but was unable to do so.
Herod feared John, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man, and kept him in custody. When he heard him speak he was very much perplexed, yet he liked to listen to him.
She had an opportunity one day when Herod, on his birthday, gave a banquet for his courtiers, his military officers, and the leading men of Galilee.
Herodias’s own daughter came in and performed a dance that delighted Herod and his guests. The king said to the girl, “Ask of me whatever you wish and I will grant it to you.”
He even swore (many things) to her, “I will grant you whatever you ask of me, even to half of my kingdom.”
She went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?” She replied, “The head of John the Baptist.”
The girl hurried back to the king’s presence and made her request, “I want you to give me at once on a platter the head of John the Baptist.”
The king was deeply distressed, but because of his oaths and the guests he did not wish to break his word to her.
So he promptly dispatched an executioner with orders to bring back his head. He went off and beheaded him in the prison.
He brought in the head on a platter and gave it to the girl. The girl in turn gave it to her mother.
When his disciples heard about it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.
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The Martyrdom of Saint John the Baptist – Memorial
29 AUGUST 2014
Commentary of the day
Saint Bede the Venerable
Saint Bede the Venerable (c.673-735),
monk, Doctor of the Church
Hymn for the Martyrdom of John the Baptist ; PL 94, 630
Forerunner in death as in life
The great forerunner of grace and messenger of truth,
John the Baptist, Christ’s shining torch,
Now becomes the preacher of eternal Light.
The prophetic witness that he never ceased to show
In his message, life, and all his mighty works,
Is signed today by the blood of his martyrdom.
He always went before his Lord:
In birth he declared his coming to the world;
By his baptism of sinners in the Jordan
He foretold the one by whom baptism would be instituted;
And by shedding his blood for him with love,
John the Baptist also experienced beforehand
The death of Christ our Savior, who gave life to the world.
A cruel tyrant may well conceal him in a prison, bound with irons,
Yet in Christ such chains could never bind a man
Whose heart in freedom opens to the Kingdom.
How could the darkness and torments of a dungeon dim
Gain mastery over one who sees Christ’s glory
And receives from him the Holy Spirit’s gifts?
Willingly he gives his head to the executioner’s sword;
How could he lose his head
Whose Head is Christ?
Happy is he who wins today his forerunner’s title
By his departure from this world of ours.
Today his death proclaims what he testified while living:
Christ who comes and now is here.
Could hell hold fast the messenger who escapes it?
The just, the prophets and the martyrs are full of joy
As they go with him to meet the Savior.
All surround John with their praises and their love
And, with him, beg Christ to come at last to those who are his own
O great forerunner of the Redeemer, he delays no longer
Who sets you free from death for evermore.
Led by your Lord,
Enter into glory with the saints!
©Evangelizo.org 2001-2014
##########################################################################################
The Martyrdom of Saint John the Baptist – Memorial
29 AUGUST 2014
Saint of the day
Saint John the Baptist
THE BEHEADING OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST
Martyr
Memorial
St. John the Baptist was called by God to be the forerunner of his divine Son. In order to preserve his innocence spotless, and to improve the extraordinary graces which he had received, he was directed by the Holy Spirit to lead an austere and contemplative life in the wilderness, in the continual exercises of devout prayer and penance, from his infancy till he was thirty years of age.
At this age the faithful minister began to discharge his mission. Clothed with the weeds of penance, be announced to all men the obligation they lay under of washing away their iniquities with the tears of sincere compunction; and proclaimed the Messias, who was then coming to make his appearance among them. He was received by the people as the true herald of the Most High God, and his voice was, as it were, a trumpet sounding from heaven to summon all men to avert the divine judgments, and to prepare themselves to reap the benefit of Vie mercy that was offered them.
The tetrarch Herod Antipas having, in defiance of all laws divine and human, married Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, who was yet living, St. John the Baptist boldly reprehended the tetrarch and his accomplice for so scandalous an incest and adultery, and Herod, urged on by lust and anger, cast the Saint into prison.
About a year after St. John had been made a prisoner, Herod gave a splendid entertainment to the nobility of Galilee. Salome, a daughter of Herodias by her lawful husband, pleased Herod by her dancing, insomuch that he promised her to grant whatever she asked. On this, Salome consulted with her mother what to ask. Herodias instructed her daughter to demand the death of John the Baptist, and persuaded the young damsel to make it part of her petition that the head of the prisoner should be forthwith brought to her in a dish. This strange request startled the tyrant himself; he assented, however, and sent a soldier of his guard to behead the Saint in prison, with an order to bring his head in a charger and present it to Salome, who delivered it to her mother. St. Jerome relates that the furious Herodias made it her inhuman pastime to prick the sacred tongue with a bodkin.
Thus died the great forerunner of our blessed Saviour, about two years and three months after his entrance upon his public ministry, about a year before the death of our blessed Redeemer.
Lives of the Saints, by Alban Butler, Benziger Bros. ed. [1894]
©Evangelizo.org 2001-2014
August 21, 2014 | Categories: COMMENTARY OF THE DAY, DAILY GOSPEL OF LORD JESUS CHRIST, Memorial, SAINTS OF THE DAY | Leave a comment
FRANCIS XAVIER SAMSEN 
Friday, August 29th. Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to St Mark 6:17-29.
The Martyrdom of Saint John the Baptist – Memorial
29 AUGUST 2014
“The head of John the Baptist.”
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 6:17-29.
Herod was the one who had John arrested and bound in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, whom he had married.
John had said to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”
Herodias harbored a grudge against him and wanted to kill him but was unable to do so.
Herod feared John, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man, and kept him in custody. When he heard him speak he was very much perplexed, yet he liked to listen to him.
She had an opportunity one day when Herod, on his birthday, gave a banquet for his courtiers, his military officers, and the leading men of Galilee.
Herodias’s own daughter came in and performed a dance that delighted Herod and his guests. The king said to the girl, “Ask of me whatever you wish and I will grant it to you.”
He even swore (many things) to her, “I will grant you whatever you ask of me, even to half of my kingdom.”
She went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?” She replied, “The head of John the Baptist.”
The girl hurried back to the king’s presence and made her request, “I want you to give me at once on a platter the head of John the Baptist.”
The king was deeply distressed, but because of his oaths and the guests he did not wish to break his word to her.
So he promptly dispatched an executioner with orders to bring back his head. He went off and beheaded him in the prison.
He brought in the head on a platter and gave it to the girl. The girl in turn gave it to her mother.
When his disciples heard about it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.
##########################################################################################
The Martyrdom of Saint John the Baptist – Memorial
29 AUGUST 2014
Commentary of the day
Saint Bede the Venerable
Saint Bede the Venerable (c.673-735),
monk, Doctor of the Church
Hymn for the Martyrdom of John the Baptist ; PL 94, 630
Forerunner in death as in life
The great forerunner of grace and messenger of truth,
John the Baptist, Christ’s shining torch,
Now becomes the preacher of eternal Light.
The prophetic witness that he never ceased to show
In his message, life, and all his mighty works,
Is signed today by the blood of his martyrdom.
He always went before his Lord:
In birth he declared his coming to the world;
By his baptism of sinners in the Jordan
He foretold the one by whom baptism would be instituted;
And by shedding his blood for him with love,
John the Baptist also experienced beforehand
The death of Christ our Savior, who gave life to the world.
A cruel tyrant may well conceal him in a prison, bound with irons,
Yet in Christ such chains could never bind a man
Whose heart in freedom opens to the Kingdom.
How could the darkness and torments of a dungeon dim
Gain mastery over one who sees Christ’s glory
And receives from him the Holy Spirit’s gifts?
Willingly he gives his head to the executioner’s sword;
How could he lose his head
Whose Head is Christ?
Happy is he who wins today his forerunner’s title
By his departure from this world of ours.
Today his death proclaims what he testified while living:
Christ who comes and now is here.
Could hell hold fast the messenger who escapes it?
The just, the prophets and the martyrs are full of joy
As they go with him to meet the Savior.
All surround John with their praises and their love
And, with him, beg Christ to come at last to those who are his own
O great forerunner of the Redeemer, he delays no longer
Who sets you free from death for evermore.
Led by your Lord,
Enter into glory with the saints!
©Evangelizo.org 2001-2014
##########################################################################################
The Martyrdom of Saint John the Baptist – Memorial
29 AUGUST 2014
Saint of the day
Saint John the Baptist
THE BEHEADING OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST
Martyr
Memorial
St. John the Baptist was called by God to be the forerunner of his divine Son. In order to preserve his innocence spotless, and to improve the extraordinary graces which he had received, he was directed by the Holy Spirit to lead an austere and contemplative life in the wilderness, in the continual exercises of devout prayer and penance, from his infancy till he was thirty years of age.
At this age the faithful minister began to discharge his mission. Clothed with the weeds of penance, be announced to all men the obligation they lay under of washing away their iniquities with the tears of sincere compunction; and proclaimed the Messias, who was then coming to make his appearance among them. He was received by the people as the true herald of the Most High God, and his voice was, as it were, a trumpet sounding from heaven to summon all men to avert the divine judgments, and to prepare themselves to reap the benefit of Vie mercy that was offered them.
The tetrarch Herod Antipas having, in defiance of all laws divine and human, married Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, who was yet living, St. John the Baptist boldly reprehended the tetrarch and his accomplice for so scandalous an incest and adultery, and Herod, urged on by lust and anger, cast the Saint into prison.
About a year after St. John had been made a prisoner, Herod gave a splendid entertainment to the nobility of Galilee. Salome, a daughter of Herodias by her lawful husband, pleased Herod by her dancing, insomuch that he promised her to grant whatever she asked. On this, Salome consulted with her mother what to ask. Herodias instructed her daughter to demand the death of John the Baptist, and persuaded the young damsel to make it part of her petition that the head of the prisoner should be forthwith brought to her in a dish. This strange request startled the tyrant himself; he assented, however, and sent a soldier of his guard to behead the Saint in prison, with an order to bring his head in a charger and present it to Salome, who delivered it to her mother. St. Jerome relates that the furious Herodias made it her inhuman pastime to prick the sacred tongue with a bodkin.
Thus died the great forerunner of our blessed Saviour, about two years and three months after his entrance upon his public ministry, about a year before the death of our blessed Redeemer.
Lives of the Saints, by Alban Butler, Benziger Bros. ed. [1894]
©Evangelizo.org 2001-2014
August 21, 2014 | Categories: COMMENTARY OF THE DAY, DAILY GOSPEL OF LORD JESUS CHRIST, Memorial, SAINTS OF THE DAY | Leave a comment