The Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist

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. ~Mk 6:17-19

The gospel for today's celebration of the martyrdom of St. John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ (Mk 6:17-29), is a stark reminder that our unwillingness to acknowledge and repent of our sinfulness wreaks havoc. Herodias harbored such a grudge against John the Baptist that he wanted to kill him. And the reason for Herodias' grudge? John had spoken the truth, which Herodias didn't want to hear because it meant he would have to change his sinful ways. Ah, a normal enough reaction, we might think, and so it is. None of us likes to hear that what we're doing is wrong. But if we're serious about living the Gospel and following our Lord Jesus in his way of the Cross, we must listen to the messengers whom God sends us as he sent John the Baptist to Herodias -- and then we must respond with the grace of conversion that God so graciously gives us.

On the matter of harboring grudges, I find that the Sacrament of Reconciliation is the best place for me to bring them and to dispose of them. To harbor is to provide a place for someone or something. When I harbor a grudge, no matter how small it is, there is that much less space for Christ to dwell therein. When I let go of a grudge, I make room for Infinite Love and my heart overflows. In confession, I receive the grace to decrease so that Jesus may increase. Thanks be to God for his inestimable gift!

Dear St. John the Baptist, thank you for your willingness to speak the truth, no matter what the cost. Help me to be as courageous as you were, both in speaking the truth and in hearing it. And thank you so much, dear Lord, for the people in my life who love me enough to show me my faults and sins and to help me to repent of them. Amen.

Birth of St. John the Baptist

Most of us upon thinking of St. John the Baptist have an image of a stern, austere prophet who harshly demanded repentance and conversion. That he was, and also uncompromising in his witness to the light (Jn 1:6-8), which led him to be "sacrificed by the authorities for speaking the truth without reticence" (Pope John Paul II). Yet there is another image of St. John the Baptist that we often forget. It is an image of joy, that unspeakable, unshakable joy of the Lord that caused the unborn John to leap with exultation in his mother's womb (Lk 1:44). Later, when his disciples asked him who he was, John described himself as the friend of the bridegroom: "He who has the bride is the bridegroom; the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice; therefore this joy of mine is now full. He must increase, but I must decrease" (Jn 3:29-30). John's joy preceded his mission as well as formed and sustained it. With him, may we always rejoice to hear our bridegroom's voice -- and as a result, may we also rejoice to decrease so that Christ may increase in our hearts, our lives and our world.