Memorial: The Passion of St. John the Baptist
From: 1 Thessalonians 3:7-13
Paul Rejoices over the Good Reports Brought by Timothy (Continuation)
He Prays for the Thessalonians
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Commentary:
6-8. St Paul discreetly allows the Thessalonians to see how zealous he is for
their souls: far from being indifferent to their state of spiritual health, he sees it
as a matter of life or death. Concern for the solid faith of those entrusted to him
is his very life. Timothy has reported that the Thessalonians were “standing fast
in the Lord” and that makes him very happy.
9. The fact that the Thessalonians are steadfast in the faith in spite of persecu-
tion is not due only to their own merits; the credit must go mainly to the grace
of God; and so St Paul thanks the Lord for the help he has given them.
“For all the joy we feel...before our God”: that is, in the presence of God. Prayer
provides the outlet the Christian needs for expressing his feelings and desires; it
is an intimate conversation with God which he can have at any time: “While we
carry out as perfectly as we can (with all our mistakes and limitations) the tasks
allotted to us by our situation and duties, our soul longs to escape. It is drawn
towards God like iron drawn by a magnet. One begins to love Jesus, in a more
effective way, with the sweet and gentle surprise of his encounter” (St. J. Escri-
va, “Friends of God”, 296).
10. St Paul’s first stay in Thessalonica was a very short one, because unrest
caused by Jews forced him to leave in a hurry (cf. Acts 17:5-10). That meant
that he was unable to give any advanced religious instruction to the believers
— which is why he wants to see them again.
He does not confine himself to wishing he could see them; he uses his super-
natural resources (including prayer) to obtain what he wants, for prayer should
precede and accompany preaching. Otherwise there is no reason to expect
apostolic work to bear fruit. Although faith is born of preaching (cf. Rom 10:17),
preaching alone cannot produce faith; St Thomas teaches that it is necessary
for grace to act on the heart of the listener (cf. “Commentary on Rom”, 10, 2).
11. Earlier St Paul referred to the obstacles Satan put in the way of his return
to Thessalonica (cf. 2:18). That is why he now prays the Lord to “direct his way”
— prayer being the best resource he has.
“May our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct [singular verb] our
way”: it is interesting to note that the verb is singular even though it has two sub-
jects. It would be wrong to dismiss this as insignificant, for it hints at the myste-
ry of the three Persons in the one God.
12-13. Love is a supernatural virtue which inclines us to love God (for his own
sake) above all things, and our neighbor as ourselves for the love of God. Given
that charity is a virtue which God infuses into the soul, it is something we must
not only practise but also ask God to increase in us.
Supernatural love, or charity, embraces everyone without exception. “Loving
one person and showing indifference to others”, St John Chrysostom observes,
“is characteristic of purely human affection; but St Paul is telling us that our love
should not be restricted in any way” (”Hom. on 1 Thess, ad loc.”). When a per-
son practices this virtue in an uninhibited way, his holiness gains in strength: he
becomes irreproachable “before our Lord and Father”; “in this does the true merit
of virtue really consist—and not in simply being blameless before men [...]. Yes,
I shall say it again: it is charity, it is love, which makes us blameless” (”ibid.”).
“With all his saints”: referring to believers who died in the grace of God.
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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.
From: Mark 6:17-29
John the Baptist Beheaded
[24] And she went out, and said to her mother, “What shall I ask?” And she said,
“The head of John the Baptizer.” [25] And she came in immediately with haste
to the king, and asked, saying, “I want you to give me at once the head of John
the Baptizer on a platter.” [26] And the King was exceedingly sorry; but because
of his oath and his guests he did not want to break his word to her. [27] And im-
mediately the king sent a soldier of the guard and gave orders to bring his head.
He went and beheaded him in the prison, [28] and brought his head on a platter,
and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother. [29] When his disciples
heard of it, they came and took his body, and laid it in a tomb.
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Commentary:
16-29. It is interesting that the extensive account of the death of John the Baptist
is inserted here in the Gospel narrative. The reason is St. John the Baptist’s spe-
cial relevance in the history of salvation: he is the Precursor, entrusted with the
task of preparing the way for the Messiah. Besides, John the Baptist had a great
reputation among the people: they believed him to be a prophet (Mark 11:32);
some even thought he was the Messiah (Luke 3:15; John 1:20); and they flocked
to him from many places (Mark 1:5). Jesus Himself said: “Among those born of
women there has risen no one greater than John the Baptist” (Matthew 11:11).
Later, the Apostle St. John will speak of him in the Gospel: “There was a man
sent from God, whose name was John” (John 1:6); but the sacred text points out
that, despite this, he was not the light, but rather the witness to the light (John 1:
6-8). More correctly, he was the lamp carrying the light (John 5:35). We are told
here that he was a righteous man and preached to everyone what had to be
preached: he had a word for people at large, for publicans, for soldiers (Luke 3:10-
14); for Pharisees and Sadducees (Matthew 3:7-12); for King Herod himself (Mark
6:18-20). This humble, upright and austere man paid with his life for the witness
he bore to Jesus the Messiah (John 1:29 and 36-37).
26. Oaths and promises immoral in content should never be made, and, if made,
should never be kept. This is the teaching of the Church, which is summed up
in the “St. Pius X Catechism”, 383, in the following way: “Are we obliged to keep
oaths we have sworn to do unjust and unlawful things? Not only are we not ob-
liged: we sin by making such oaths, for they are prohibited by the Law of God or
of the Church.”
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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.