Monday, August 29, 21st Week in Ordinary Time
MEMORIAL OF THE MARTYRDOM OF JOHN THE BAPTIST
The drunken oath of a king with a shallow sense of honor, a seductive dance, and the hateful heart of a queen combined to bring about the martyrdom of John the Baptist. The greatest of prophets suffered the fate of so many Old Testament prophets before him: rejection and martyrdom. The “voice crying in the desert” did not hesitate to accuse the guilty, did not hesitate to speak the truth. This great religious reformer was sent by God to prepare the people for the Messiah. His vocation was one of selfless giving. “I am baptizing you with water, for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is mightier than I. I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Mt 3,11). Scripture tells us that many people followed John looking to him for hope, perhaps in anticipation of some great messianic power. John never allowed himself the false honor of receiving these people for his own glory. He knew his calling was one of preparation. When the time came, he led his disciples to Jesus: “The next day John was there again with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God.’ The two disciples heard what he said and followed Jesus” (Jn 1,35-37). It is John the Baptist who has pointed the way to Christ. John’s life and death were a giving over of self for God and other people. The Church celebrates two feasts dedicated to John the Baptist during the year - his nativity on June 24, and his beheading.
Readings for today's Mass:
www.usccb.org/bible/readings/082912.cfm
WITH THE HOLY FATHER TODAY
General Audience - In his catechesis today, Benedict XVI paid tribute to John the Baptist on the liturgical feast
of his martyrdom, saying he reminds Christians of all time that we can never compromise our love for Christ nor
the Truth, but this can happen only if a life of constant prayer keeps our relationship with God solid, to give us
the strength to testify to Christ and the truth with courage.
P.S. Daylife.com has just notified its readers that it is no longer providing its news and photo service to ordinary readers but only to their regular paying customers. That's an enormous loss in terms of easy and generally prompt access to photos of the Pope in each of his public events, or that OR has released to the news media. Yahoo stopped its news photo service on 'the Papacy and the Vatican' quite a while back, so I have to search out a free newsphoto service that is comparably convenient as Yahoo and Daylife were. I've applied to be a regular customer of Daylife using the Forum as my business URL, but I don't know how that will turn out... Perhaps Gloria has alternatives....