†Saint Quote of the Day
"It is in the company of Jesus that you work for the glory of God."
–St. John Baptist de la Salle †Today's Meditation
"When Mary's voice landed on the fetal ears of [John] the Baptist, he was called. He was sanctified. Mary was the voice of the Word. John was to become that voice, crying in the desert. He transformed his mouth into a sharp sword. John would clear the path with that sword. The path to each man's heart was filled with nettles and briars, overgrown with thorns and hardened by constant commerce. John would clear the way and prepare the ground…John did not begin by preaching. He prepared his preaching by silence."
–Fr. Matthew Kauth, p.174 An Excerpt From
The Imitation of St. Joseph †Daily Verse
"Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation."
–Isaiah 12:2 | Passion of St. John the Baptist St. John the Baptist was a cousin of Jesus, and his mission was to preach repentance to Israel in preparation for the coming of the Messiah. When John rebuked King Herod for his unlawful union with Herodias, his brother's wife, Herod had John imprisoned. On his birthday, Herod celebrated with a great feast as Salome, the daughter of Herodias, danced before his guests. Herod, pleased with Salome's performance, promised to give her whatever she asked for, even up to half his kingdom. On the advice of her wicked mother, Salome asked for the head of John the Baptist on a platter. Herod regretfully ordered the execution. St. John the Baptist is the last and greatest of the Old Testament prophets, highly venerated by the Church. The feast of his martyrdom is August 29th. |  click to read more | | St. Sabina of Rome St. Sabina (d. 126 A.D.) was a wealthy Roman noblewoman, a widow and the daughter of Herod Metallarius. She was converted to Christianity by her virtuous female slave, St. Serapia, a devout Christian from Antioch who entered into voluntary slavery with Sabina after forsaking marriage and consecrating herself to Christ. Following her conversion, St. Sabina's home became a secret meeting place for Christians where the sacraments were celebrated. St. Serapia was discovered to be a Christian and was burned alive and beheaded. St. Sabina recovered Serapia's body and buried it in a tomb. Within the same year St. Sabina was also killed for her faith and buried alongside Serapia. After Christianity was legalized in the 5th century, a basilica was built over St. Sabina's home on Aventine Hill. Originally dedicated to both saints, it is known today as Santa Sabina, one of Rome's most ancient churches. St. Sabina's feast day is August 29th. | Memorial of the Passion of Saint John the Baptist • Readings for the Memorial of the Passion of Saint John the Baptist Reading 1 1 Thes 2:1-8 You yourselves know, brothers and sisters,
that our reception among you was not without effect.
Rather, after we had suffered and been insolently treated,
as you know, in Philippi,
we drew courage through our God
to speak to you the Gospel of God with much struggle.
Our exhortation was not from delusion or impure motives,
nor did it work through deception.
But as we were judged worthy by God to be entrusted with the Gospel,
that is how we speak,
not as trying to please men,
but rather God, who judges our hearts.
Nor, indeed, did we ever appear with flattering speech, as you know,
or with a pretext for greed–God is witness–
nor did we seek praise from men,
either from you or from others,
although we were able to impose our weight as Apostles of Christ.
Rather, we were gentle among you,
as a nursing mother cares for her children.
With such affection for you, we were determined to share with you
not only the Gospel of God, but our very selves as well,
so dearly beloved had you become to us. Responsorial Psalm Ps 139:1-3, 4-6 R. (1) You have searched me and you know me, Lord.
O LORD, you have probed me and you know me;
you know when I sit and when I stand;
you understand my thoughts from afar.
My journeys and my rest you scrutinize,
with all my ways you are familiar.
R. You have searched me and you know me, Lord.
Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O LORD, you know the whole of it.
Behind me and before, you hem me in
and rest your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
too lofty for me to attain.
R. You have searched me and you know me, Lord. Alleluia Mt 5:10 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,
for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mk 6:17-29 Herod was the one who had John the Baptist 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' 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.
| Daily Meditation: 1 Thessalonians 2:1-8 We were determined to share with you not only the Gospel of God, but our very selves as well. (1 Thessalonians 2:8) What a contrast these readings give! The Gospel presents the court of Herod as a place of grasping for worldly power and pleasure that is sustained by ruthlessness and conniving people. Paul and his fellow missionaries, on the other hand, display open, generous hearts that are concerned primarily about giving, not grasping. Whereas Herod's kingdom is characterized by deception, impurity, and self-centeredness, Paul's life in the kingdom of God is marked by humility, mercy, and genuine affection. When you look at the contrast between these two kingdoms, it's obvious which one is more attractive: the kingdom of God! But as today's feast of the Passion of St. John the Baptist makes clear, kingdom living comes at a cost. John's courage, his dedication to the Lord, and his willingness to call out Herod's sin led to his martyrdom. And on a somewhat lesser scale, Paul was "insolently treated" for his preaching of the gospel (1 Thessalonians 2:2). While our day-to-day lives are usually not this dramatic, we are all familiar with the challenges of living as disciples of Jesus. For example, you may need to cling to the Lord and endure patiently during times of trial or worry. You may be called upon to care for a loved one when you are tired, or to respond generously when someone asks for your help over and over again. Perhaps you need to forgive an offense or be humble enough to ask forgiveness. Certainly the enticements of this world can seem far more attractive than laying down your life in these ways. But the "rewards" of this world are weak and temporary when compared to "the supreme good" of living for the Lord and serving his people (Philippians 3:8). The truth is, sharing "our very selves," as Paul and John the Baptist did, is the most rewarding, joy-filled life we could ever know (1 Thessalonians 2:8). "Jesus, help me to give of myself instead of grasping for myself." Psalm 139:1-6
Mark 6:17-29 |  click to hear 2cents | audio link
Reflections with Brother Adrian: | From today's 1st Holy Scripture:
"Our exhortation was not from delusion or impure motives,
nor did it work through deception.
But as we were judged worthy by God to be entrusted with the Gospel,
that is how we speak,
not as trying to please men,
but rather God, who judges our hearts......." end of verse.
. . . Would you then, consider it an honor to be entrusted with the Word of God? How are you using it? Are you using it at all? It is then, the very true story, the parable of the ones entrusted with coins, or seeds, to invest and to give fruit to the King. It is the day now to react to the Son like the sun in the sky, that gives life. The oblivious Aztecs and many others weren't too far off when they'd worship the sun god that they knew was was gave life...light gives life, and life gives a chance at meaningful relations with other lives. So what is holding us back from spreading the light and singing the words of light? | We pray today:
"You have searched me and you know me, Lord.
Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know the whole of it.
Behind me and before, you hem me in and rest your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
too lofty for me to attain. ....."_ end of Psalm." | In the Gospel today we heard:
"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......." end of Gospel verse. | From Bishop Barron today:
"Friends, today's Gospel tells of the passion of John the Baptist, and it suggests to me "the Herod principle" that I like to apply to contemporary atheists. The Gospels tell us that Herod Antipas arrested John the Baptist because the prophet had publicly challenged the king. Herod threw John into prison, but then, we are told, the king loved secretly to listen to the prophet, who continued to preach from his cell.
A basic assumption of biblical people is that everyone is hardwired for God. As the Psalmist prayed, "My soul rests in God alone." My wager is that everyone—and that includes Bill Maher and Richard Dawkins—implicitly wants God and hence remains permanently fascinated by the things of God.
Though the fierce atheists of today profess that they would like to eliminate religious speech and religious ideas, secretly they love to listen as people speak of God. So I say to Christians and other believers: be ready for a good fight, and get some spiritual weapons in your hands. And I say to the atheists: I'll keep talking—because I know, despite your protestations, that your hearts are listening."
Prior to St. John's arrest by Herod, he was a free bird, out in the desert, singing loud and clear, attracting many to the hardy message of returning to the Lord, and preparing a way for the Lord in our hearts, our very lives. Lately I've been hearing pretty bird songs around the house. Sometimes some strange little yellow birds flock a tree that the Blessed Mother Statue is at in a makeshift grotto I made. Their songs make something move inside of me. I remember now my blind friend that just passed away, I took him to my house and he mentioned the birds he heard.
It is intriguing, but do I try to find meaning in it all? I was reading through tons of Catholic emails I get and one said something about the "world's biggest audio book" and I envisioned just living outside in nature and letting nature speak about God, the creator of it all.
Back to Saint John the Baptizer. He was locked up for what? Speaking the truth, about marriage. Nowadays, are things so different? There are many losing their jobs and being sued and thrown in jail for speaking about the truth of marriage, a holy marriage, that should be forever between a man and woman. But the evil spirit that resided in Herodias is still around. What spirit is that? Some wretched demon spirit that we need to learn about? Do you want to know that demon's name? It is called "Pride". In our world, a light is being shown on the atrocity of child molesters and abusers, and if you look around these molesters are the scum of the earth, in culture and in prisons too. But they are just one of the many acronyms of the liberalism movement, and the librettists are simply wanting freedom...from God's laws. And there is hell to pay. There is bloodshed and blood on the hands of those who desire to be away from God's grace and mercy. Archbishop Sheen said that "first comes nudity, and then comes violence" and he spoke of how it continues on from Cane and Abel from Adam and Eve. But it gets worse. The molesters are scapegoats. While everyone's attention is on the despicable scum, the devil is devouring babies offered in abortion mills, and this is the exact same thing that happens in offering to the god of Baal and Moloch. This has been going on for centuries!
Why does this happen until today?
They say that the definition of Love is "willing the good of the other".
If this is true, then the opposite could be held for Pride "to desire the bad of the other". And inadvertently, this happens in modern day child sacrifice, murders, in abortion. You're not abusing them and hurting them forever mentally, physically, and spiritually, crippling them, but you are killing them forever, wiping them from the face of the earth not even giving them a chance to reconcile and grow in the light of God.
How does Herodias live on? Pride.
I'm in many ministries and many ministries are hurting because of pride. The church hurts because of pride. When people tell me how they love how I sing or clap after I make an announcement, I almost start cursing inside of me, "get away from me you damned evil one", as I can almost feel the pats on the back from the devil.
St. John continued singing while in prison like a bird in a cage. Herod liked to hear him sing, that is to speak the word of truth. It attracts the enslaved soul that desires freedom from a culture of death. But for the sake of reputation and pride...it wasn't enough. Is the blood of Jesus our Lord from Heaven enough for you? ........
Let us pray:
Lord, I love to sing that song that says in spanish "ya no me falta nada, tengo todo, tengo a Ti", that is in English "I'm no longer missing anything, I have everything, I have You". Help me help the world fall in love with You more and more...and then, I can follow them to a better love of God our Father, You my Lord in Heaven, forever. |  Click To Hear | Random Bible Verse 1
Psalm 31:24 24 Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the LORD! | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
