🗣️Saint John the Baptist, the Precursor of the Messiah, is a central figure in salvation history, whose life was an unwavering testimony to the truth. His mission, prophesied since the Old Testament, was to prepare the way for the Lord by preaching repentance and a baptism of conversion. Living with austerity in the desert, he personified the penance he proclaimed. With humility, he recognized his position in relation to Christ, stating, "He must increase, but I must decrease." His ministry culminated in martyrdom, beheaded by order of King Herod for having courageously denounced the monarch's adulterous union with Herodias. His death was not merely the end of a life but the seal of his prophetic fidelity, dying as he lived: a voice crying out for justice and truth, even before the powerful of the earth.
🙏 Introit (Ps 118:46-47 | Ps 91:2)Loquébar de testimóniis tuis in conspéctu regum, et non confundébar... I spoke of Thy testimonies before kings, and I was not ashamed; and I meditated on Thy commandments, which I have loved exceedingly. Ps. It is good to give praise to the Lord: and to sing to Thy Name, O most High. ℣. Glory be to the Father.
📜 Epistle (Jeremiah - Jer 1:17-19)
In those days, the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak to Judah all that I command thee. Be not afraid at their presence: for I will make thee not to fear their countenance. For behold I have made thee this day a fortified city, and a pillar of iron, and a wall of brass, over all the land, to the kings of Judah, to the princes thereof, and to the priests, and to the people of the land. And they shall fight against thee, and shall not prevail: for I am with thee, saith the Lord, to deliver thee.
📖 Gospel (Mark 6:17-29)
At that time, Herod had sent and apprehended John and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, because he had married her. For John said to Herod: It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife. Now Herodias laid snares for him and was desirous to put him to death, and could not. For Herod feared John, knowing him to be a just and holy man, and kept him, and when he heard him, did many things, and heard him willingly. And when a convenient day was come, Herod made a supper for his birthday, for the princes, and tribunes, and chief men of Galilee. And when the daughter of the same Herodias had come in, and had danced, and pleased Herod and them that were at table with him, the king said to the damsel: Ask of me what thou wilt, and I will give it thee. And he swore to her: Whatsoever thou shalt ask I will give thee, though it be the half of my kingdom. Who when she was gone out, said to her mother: What shall I ask? But she said: The head of John the Baptist. And when she was come in immediately with haste to the king, she asked, saying: I will that forthwith thou give me in a dish the head of John the Baptist. And the king was struck sad. Yet because of his oath, and because of them that were with him at table, he would not displease her, but sending an executioner, he commanded that his head should be brought in a dish. And he beheaded him in the prison and brought his head in a dish and gave it to the damsel, and the damsel gave it to her mother. Which his disciples hearing, came and took his body, and laid it in a tomb.
🤔 Reflections
🖋️Truth begets hatred; for as soon as the truth began to be preached, the truth suffered persecution (St. Augustine, Sermon 30, on the Beheading of St. John the Baptist). Jeremiah's promise, to be "a pillar of iron, and a wall of brass," is fulfilled in John, who did not yield to the king's threat. The truth is not silenced, even if it costs one's life; for this reason, John spoke before the king and was not ashamed, as the Introit sings (St. Jerome, Commentary on Jeremiah). The dance of a young girl precedes the death of a prophet; what great evil a single banquet can cause! In the midst of the feast's pleasures, an impious oath is sworn, and to fulfill it, an unparalleled crime is committed, revealing how the vices of the world lead to the destruction of holiness (St. Ambrose, On Naboth, 15). An oath that requires a crime is a wicked promise. It was an impious oath; it was more impious to fulfill it, for Herod feared breaking his word to men more than beheading the friend of God (St. Augustine, Sermon 307).
🔄The Gospel of Saint Matthew (Mt 14:3-12) complements Mark's account by specifying that Herod himself "would have put him to death, but he feared the people, because they regarded him as a prophet," which intensifies the king's internal conflict, who in Mark seems more inclined to protect John out of admiration. Saint Luke (Lk 3:19-20), on the other hand, offers a broader and earlier summary in his narrative, mentioning that John rebuked Herod not only for Herodias, "but for all the evils that Herod had done," thus expanding the scope of John's prophetic courage beyond a single moral transgression.
⛓️The courage of John the Baptist, in speaking "before kings" without being ashamed, deeply echoes in the writings of Saint Paul. The Apostle exhorts Timothy to "preach the word: be instant in season, out of season: reprove, entreat, rebuke in all patience and doctrine" (2 Timothy 4:2), a perfect summary of John's ministry. Furthermore, John's suffering for the truth finds a theological parallel in Paul's assertion that "all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution" (2 Timothy 3:12). John's faithfulness unto death embodies the Pauline ideal of having "fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith" (2 Timothy 4:7), becoming a martyr not for denying an idol, but for defending God's moral law.
🏛️Saint John the Baptist's steadfastness in defending the sanctity of marriage reflects the perennial teaching of the Church on its indissolubility. The Catechism of the Council of Trent affirms that the matrimonial bond, once ratified and consummated, cannot be dissolved by any human power. By denouncing Herod, John acted as a guardian of this divine truth. Additionally, the issue of Herod's oath is clarified by moral theology, which teaches that an oath to commit a sinful act has no validity, and its observance constitutes an even greater sin. The virtue of fortitude, celebrated by the Church in the martyrs, is what enabled John to prefer death over silencing the truth, making him a model for all who are called to bear witness to the faith in hostile circumstances.