Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings 29-August-2024

Mark
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	Mark 6
17.	For Herod himself had sent and apprehended John, and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias the wife of Philip his brother, because he had married her.	Ipse enim Herodes misit, ac tenuit Joannem, et vinxit eum in carcere propter Herodiadem uxorem Philippi fratris sui, quia duxerat eam.	αυτος γαρ ο ηρωδης αποστειλας εκρατησεν τον ιωαννην και εδησεν αυτον εν φυλακη δια ηρωδιαδα την γυναικα φιλιππου του αδελφου αυτου οτι αυτην εγαμησεν
18.	For John said to Herod: It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife.	Dicebat enim Joannes Herodi : Non licet tibi habere uxorem fratris tui.	ελεγεν γαρ ο ιωαννης τω ηρωδη οτι ουκ εξεστιν σοι εχειν την γυναικα του αδελφου σου
19.	Now Herodias laid snares for him: and was desirous to put him to death, and could not.	Herodias autem insidiabatur illi : et volebat occidere eum, nec poterat.	η δε ηρωδιας ενειχεν αυτω και ηθελεν αυτον αποκτειναι και ουκ ηδυνατο
20.	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 he heard him willingly.	Herodes enim metuebat Joannem, sciens eum virum justum et sanctum : et custodiebat eum, et audito eo multa faciebat, et libenter eum audiebat.	ο γαρ ηρωδης εφοβειτο τον ιωαννην ειδως αυτον ανδρα δικαιον και αγιον και συνετηρει αυτον και ακουσας αυτου πολλα εποιει και ηδεως αυτου ηκουεν
21.	And when a convenient day was come, Herod made a supper for his birthday, for the princes, and tribunes, and chief men of Galilee.	Et cum dies opportunus accidisset, Herodes natalis sui cœnam fecit principibus, et tribunis, et primis Galilææ :	και γενομενης ημερας ευκαιρου οτε ηρωδης τοις γενεσιοις αυτου δειπνον εποιει τοις μεγιστασιν αυτου και τοις χιλιαρχοις και τοις πρωτοις της γαλιλαιας
22.	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.	cumque introisset filia ipsius Herodiadis, et saltasset, et placuisset Herodi, simulque recumbentibus, rex ait puellæ : Pete a me quod vis, et dabo tibi :	και εισελθουσης της θυγατρος αυτης της ηρωδιαδος και ορχησαμενης και αρεσασης τω ηρωδη και τοις συνανακειμενοις ειπεν ο βασιλευς τω κορασιω αιτησον με ο εαν θελης και δωσω σοι
23.	And he swore to her: Whatsoever thou shalt ask I will give thee, though it be the half of my kingdom.	et juravit illi : Quia quidquid petieris dabo tibi, licet dimidium regni mei.	και ωμοσεν αυτη οτι ο εαν με αιτησης δωσω σοι εως ημισους της βασιλειας μου
24.	Who when she was gone out, said to her mother, What shall I ask? But she said: The head of John the Baptist.	Quæ cum exisset, dixit matri suæ : Quid petam ? At illa dixit : Caput Joannis Baptistæ.	η δε εξελθουσα ειπεν τη μητρι αυτης τι αιτησομαι η δε ειπεν την κεφαλην ιωαννου του βαπτιστου
25.	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.	Cumque introisset statim cum festinatione ad regem, petivit dicens : Volo ut protinus des mihi in disco caput Joannis Baptistæ.	και εισελθουσα ευθεως μετα σπουδης προς τον βασιλεα ητησατο λεγουσα θελω ινα μοι δως εξαυτης επι πινακι την κεφαλην ιωαννου του βαπτιστου
26.	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:	Et contristatus est rex : propter jusjurandum, et propter simul discumbentes, noluit eam contristare :	και περιλυπος γενομενος ο βασιλευς δια τους ορκους και τους συνανακειμενους ουκ ηθελησεν αυτην αθετησαι
27.	But sending an executioner, he commanded that his head should be brought in a dish.	sed misso speculatore præcepit afferri caput ejus in disco. Et decollavit eum in carcere,	και ευθεως αποστειλας ο βασιλευς σπεκουλατορα επεταξεν ενεχθηναι την κεφαλην αυτου
28.	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.	et attulit caput ejus in disco : et dedit illud puellæ, et puella dedit matri suæ.	ο δε απελθων απεκεφαλισεν αυτον εν τη φυλακη και ηνεγκεν την κεφαλην αυτου επι πινακι και εδωκεν αυτην τω κορασιω και το κορασιον εδωκεν αυτην τη μητρι αυτης
29.	Which his disciples hearing came, and took his body, and laid it in a tomb.	Quo audito, discipuli ejus venerunt, et tulerunt corpus ejus : et posuerunt illud in monumento.	και ακουσαντες οι μαθηται αυτου ηλθον και ηραν το πτωμα αυτου και εθηκαν αυτο εν μνημειω

Catena Aurea by St. Thomas Aguinas

6:17–29

17. For Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold upon John, and bound him in prison for Herodias’ sake, his brother Philip’s wife: for he had married her.

18. For John had said unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother’s wife.

19. Therefore Herodias had a quarrel against him, and would have killed him; but she could not;

20. For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just man and an holy, and observed him; and when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly.

21. And when a convenient day was come, that Herod on his birthday made a supper to his lords, high captains, and chief estates of Galilee;

22. And when the daughter of the said Herodias came in, and danced, and pleased Herod and them that sat with him, the king said unto the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee.

23. And he sware unto her, Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom.

24. And she went forth, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the Baptist.

25. And she came in straightway with haste unto the king, and asked, saying, I will that thou give me by and by in a charger the head of John the Baptist.

26. And the king was exceeding sorry; yet for his oath’s sake, and for their sakes which sat with him, he would not reject her.

27. And immediately the king sent an executioner, and commanded his head to be brought: and he went and beheaded him in the prison,

28. And brought his head in a charger, and gave it to the damsel: and the damsel gave it to her mother.

29. And when his disciples heard of it, they came and took up his corpse, and laid it in a tomb.

THEOPHYLACT. The Evangelist Mark, taking occasion from what went before, here relates the death of the Forerunner, saying, For Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold upon John, and bound him in prison for Herodias’ sake, his brother Philip’s wife: for he had married her.

BEDE. (ubi sup.) Ancient history relates, that Philip, the son of Herod the great, under whom the Lord fled into Egypt, the brother of this Herod, under whom Christ suffered, married Herodias, the daughter of king Aretas; but afterwards, that his father-in-law, after certain disagreements had arisen with his son-in-law, had taken his daughter away, and, to the grief of her former husband, had given her in marriage to his enemy; therefore John the Baptist rebukes Herod and Herodias for contracting an unlawful union, and because it was not allowed for a man to marry his brother’s wife during his lifetime.

THEOPHYLACT. The law also commanded a brother to marry his brother’s wife, if he died without children; but in this case there was a daughter, which made the marriage criminal: there follows, Therefore Herodias had a quarrel against him, and would have killed him; but she could not.

BEDE. (ubi sup.) For Herodias was afraid, lest Herod should repent at some time, or be reconciled to his brother Philip, and so the unlawful marriage be divorced. It goes on, For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just man, and an holy.

GLOSS. (non occ.) He feared him, I say, because he revered him, for he knew him to be just in his dealings with men, and holy towards God, and he took care that Herodias should not slay him. And when he heard him, he did many things, for he thought that he spake by the Spirit of God, and heard him gladly, because he considered that what he said was profitable.

THEOPHYLACT. But see how great is the fury of lust, for though Herod had such an awe and fear of John, he forgets it all, that he may minister to his fornication.

REMIGIUS. For his lustful will drove him to lay hands on a man, whom he knew to be just and holy. And by this, we may see how a less fault became the cause to him of a greater; as it is said, (Rev. 22:11) He which is filthy, let him be filthy still. It goes on, And when a convenient day was come, that Herod on his birthday made a supper to his lords, high captains, and chief estates of Galilee.

BEDE. (ubi sup.) The only men whom we read of, as celebrating their birthdays with festive joys are Herod and Pharaoh, but each, with an evil presage, stained his birthday with blood; Herod, however, with so much the greater wickedness, as he slew the holy and guiltless teacher of truth, and that, by the wish, and at the instance of a female dancer. For there follows. And when the daughter of the said Herodias came in, and danced, and pleased Herod and them that sat with him, the king said unto the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee.

THEOPHYLACT. For during the banquet, Satan danced in the person of the damsel, and the wicked oath is completed. For it goes on, And he sware unto her, Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom.

BEDE. (ubi sup.) His oath does not excuse his murder, for perchance his reason for swearing was, that he might find an opportunity for slaying, and if she had demanded the death of his father and mother, he surely would not have granted it. It goes on, And she went forth, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the Baptist. Worthy is blood to be asked as the reward of such a deed as dancing. It goes on, And she came in straightway with haste, &c.

THEOPHYLACT. The malignant woman begs that the head of John be given to her immediately, that is, at once, in that very hour, for she feared lest Herod should repent. There follows, And the king was exceeding sorry.

BEDE. (ubi sup.) It is usual with Scripture, that the historian should relate events as they were then believed by all, thus Joseph is called the father of Jesus by Mary herself. So now also Herod is said to be exceeding sorry, for so the guests thought, since the hypocrite bore sadness on his face, when he had joy in his heart; and he excuses his wickedness by his oath, that he might be impious under pretence of piety. Wherefore there follows, For his oath’s sake, and for their sakes who sat with him, he would not reject her.

THEOPHYLACT. Herod not being his own master, but full of lust, fulfilled his oath, and slew the just man; it would have been better however to break his oath, than to commit so great a sin.

BEDE. (ubi sup.) In that again which is added, And for their sakes who sat with him, he wishes to make all partakers in his guilt, that a bloody feast might be set before luxurious and impure guests. Wherefore it goes on, But sending an executioner, he commanded his head to be brought in a charger.

THEOPHYLACT. ‘Spiculator’ is the name for the public servant commissioned to put men to death.

BEDE. Now Herod was not ashamed to bring before his guests the head of a murdered man; but we do not read of such an act of madness in Pharaoh. From both examples, however, it is proved to be more useful, often to call to mind the coming day of our death, by fear and by living chastely, than to celebrate the day of our birth with luxury. For man is born in the world to toil, but the elect pass by death out of the world to repose. It goes on, And he beheaded him in prison, &c.

GREGORY. (Mor. 3, 7) I cannot, without the greatest wonder, reflect that he, who was filled even in his mother’s womb with the spirit of prophecy, and who was the greatest that had arisen amongst those born of women, is sent into prison by wicked men, is beheaded for the dancing of a girl, and though a man of so great austerity, meets death through such a foul instrument. Are we to suppose that there was something evil in his life, to be wiped away by so ignominious a death? When, however, could he commit a sin even in his eating, whose food was only locusts and wild honey? How could he offend in his conversation, who never quitted the wilderness? How is it that Almighty God so despises in this life those whom He has so sublimely chosen before all ages, if it be not for the reason, which is plain to the piety of the faithful, that He thus sinks them into the lowest place, because He sees how He is rewarding them in the highest, and outwardly He throws them down amongst things despised, because inwardly He draws them up even to incomprehensible things. Let each then infer from this what they shall suffer, whom He rejects, if He so grieves those whom he loves.

BEDE. (ubi sup.) There follows, And when his disciples heard of it, they came and took up his corpse, and laid it in a tomb. Josephus relates, that John was brought bound into the castle of Macheron, and there slain; and ecclesiastical history (Theodoret. Hist. Eccles. 3:3) says that he was buried in Sebaste, a city of Palestine, once called Samaria. But the beheading of John the Baptist signifies the lessening of that fame, by which he was thought to be Christ by the people, as the raising of our Saviour on the cross typifies the advance of the faith, in that He Himself, who was first looked upon as a prophet by the multitude, was recognised as the Son of God by all the faithful; wherefore John, who was destined to decrease, was born when the daylight begins to wax short; but the Lord at that season of the year in which the day begins to lengthen.

THEOPHYLACT. In a mystical way, however, Herod, whose name means, ‘of skin,’ is the people of the Jews, and the wife to whom he was wedded means vain glory, whose daughter even now encircles the Jews with her dance, namely, a false understanding of the Scriptures; they indeed beheaded John, that is, the word of prophecy, and hold to him without Christ, his head.

PSEUDO-JEROME. Or else, The head of the law, which is Christ, is cut off from his own body, that is, the Jewish people, and is given to a Gentile damsel, that is, the Roman Church, and the damsel gives it to her adulterous mother, that is, to the synagogue, who in the end will believe. The body of John is buried, his head is put in a dish; thus the human Letter is covered over, the Spirit is honoured, and received on the altar.

Catena Aurea Mark 6

Saint of the Day for August 29

(1st. century)

The Story of the Martyrdom of Saint 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. But why? What possesses a man that he would give up his very life?

This great religious reformer was sent by God to prepare the people for the Messiah. His vocation was one of selfless giving. The only power that he claimed was the Spirit of Yahweh. “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” (Matthew 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” (John 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. His simple style of life was one of complete detachment from earthly possessions. His heart was centered on God and the call that he heard from the Spirit of God speaking to his heart. Confident of God’s grace, he had the courage to speak words of condemnation, repentance, and salvation.

Reflection

Each of us has a calling to which we must listen. No one will ever repeat the mission of John, and yet all of us are called to that very mission. It is the role of the Christian to witness to Jesus. Whatever our position in this world, we are called to be disciples of Christ. By our words and deeds, others should realize that we live in the joy of knowing that Jesus is Lord. We do not have to depend upon our own limited resources, but can draw strength from the vastness of Christ’s saving grace.

franciscanmedia.org

NAVARRE BIBLE COMMENTARY (RSV)

Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (To the Greater Glory of God)

First Reading:

From: 1 Corinthians 1:1-9

Greeting
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[1] Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes,

[2] To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:

[3] Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Thanksgiving
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[4] I give thanks to God always for you because of the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, [5] that in every way you were enriched in him with all speech and all knowledge [6] even as the testimony to Christ was confirmed among you--[7] so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ; [8] who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. [9] God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

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Commentary:

1-9. With slight variations almost all St Paul's letters begin in the same kind of way: there is a greeting (vv. 1-3), which carries the name of the writer, information on the addressee(s), and the conventional phrase; and an act of thanksgiving to God (vv. 4-9), in which the Apostle refers to the main qualities and endowments of the Christians to whom he is writing. By comparing his letters with other letters that have come down to us from the same period, it is quite apparent that St Paul usually begins his letters in the style of the time. yet he does not entirely follow this rigid pattern: he changes the usual opening--"Greeting!" (cf. Acts 15:23; 23:26)—to this more personal one, which has a pronounced Christian stamp: "Grace to you and peace." Also, the way in which he introduces himself and describes those he is addressing tells much more than a simple "Paul to the Corinthians: greeting!" Even his words of thanksgiving convey tenderness and warmth--and their tone is not merely human, for he attributes to God the virtues he praises in the faithful.

The Fathers of the Church have drawn attention to this characteristic of Paul's letters--the way he manages to convey a deep doctrinal message in a familiar style, nicely suited to whomever he happens to be addressing: "A doctor", St John Chrysostom explains, "does not treat the patient in the same way at the start of his illness as when he is recovering; nor does a teacher use the same method with children as with those who need more advanced tuition. That is how the Apostle acts: he writes as suits the needs and the times" ("Hom. On Rom", Prologue).

1. St Paul attaches to his name three features which identify him—his divine calling; his office as Apostle of Jesus Christ; and the will of God, the source of his apostolic vocation.

"Called": this is a carefully chosen word designed to convey the vigorous and personal way God called him. He calls all men to faith, to grace, to holiness, and to heaven (cf., e.g. Rom 1:7; 1 Cor 1:2; 1:26; 7:20; Eph 1:18). By defining himself as "called" (cf. Rom 1:1), St Paul is very probably referring to the episode on the road to Damascus (cf. Acts 9:1-19), when Christ changed his life, as he had earlier changed the lives of the Twelve.

"Apostle of Christ Jesus": Paul can find no stronger expression than this to describe his mission: he is forever applying this title to himself--thirty-five times by our reckoning. This fact of his apostleship is the basis of his authority—authority to praise, teach, admonish and correct orally and in writing. He is so totally identified with this mission that he has no other purpose than to pursue it; his life is dedicated to this end; all his thoughts, words and actions are aimed at achieving it. Humbly (because he once persecuted the Church: 1 Cor 15:9) and yet forthrightly (cf. 1 Cor 9:1-2) he puts himself on the same level as the Twelve as far as vocation and apostleship are concerned.

"By the will of God": the Apostle's energy and vitality are ascribable not to himself but to God, who had plans for Paul ever since he was in his mother's womb (Gal 1: 15); so much so that later in this letter he actually says, "If I preach the Gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel" (1 Cor 9:16).

"Our brother, Sosthenes": it is uncertain whether this was the same person as the ruler of the synagogue in Corinth mentioned in Acts (18:17). The prominent position given him here suggests that he was someone well-known to the community at Corinth, either for his ministry among them or because he often accompanied St Paul; he may have been the secretary, or scribe, who actually wrote the letter down (cf. 16:21).

2. "The church of God at Corinth": the addressee of the letter. The very grammar of the phrase emphasizes the fact that the Church is not the totality of the local communities: rather, each local community--here, the Christians of Corinth--represents the whole Church, which is one and indivisible: "The Apostle calls it [the community] 'the church of God' in order to show that unity is one of its essential and necessary characteristics. The Church of God is one in its members and forms nothing but a single Church with all the communities spread throughout the world, for the word 'church' does not mean schism: it means unity, harmony, concord" (St John Chrysostom, "Hom on 1 Cor", 1, "ad loc".).

In another three brush-strokes St Paul here describes those who make up the Church--those sanctified in Jesus Christ, those called to be saints, those who invoke the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

"Those sanctified in Christ Jesus": the faithful receive at Baptism the grace which makes them a holy people (cf. Ex 19:6; 1 Pet 2:9); the participle "sanctified" implies something stable, such as is the intimate union between the individual Christian and Jesus. The formula "in Christ Jesus" here refers to the fact that the baptized are grafted on to Christ-like branches attached to a wine (cf. Jn l5:1ff); this link with Christ is what makes them saints, that is, sharers in God's own holiness; and it involves a duty to strive for moral perfection. "As those who profess any art, even though they depart from its rules, are still called artists, so in like manner the faithful, although offending in many things and violating the engagements to which they had pledged themselves, are still called holy, because they have been made the people of God and have consecrated themselves to Christ by faith and Baptism. Hence, St Paul calls the Corinthians sanctified and holy, although it is certain that among them there were some whom he severely rebuked as carnal, and charged with grosser crimes" ("St Pius V Catechism", I, 10, 15).

"Called to be saints": through faith and Baptism "all Christians in any state or walk of life are called to the fullness of Christian life and to the perfection of love" (Vatican II, "Lumen Gentium", 40).

"Those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ": this circumlocution describes Christian believers (cf. Acts 9:14, 21; 22:16; Rom 10:12); what makes them different from others is that they worship Jesus Christ as Lord and God, in the same way as the faithful of the Old Covenant invoked the name of Yahweh. To be a member of the Church of God, therefore, it is essential that a person believe that Christ is God. "We believe in our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Son of God. He is the eternal Word of the Father before time began, one in substance with the Father, "homoousios to Patri", through whom all things were made. He was incarnate of the Virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit and was made man. 'Equal, therefore, to the Father according to his divinity, less than the Father according to his humanity, his unity deriving not from some impossible confusion of substance but from his Person"' (Paul Vl, "Creed of the People of God", 11).

3. Peace of soul, that "serenity of mind, tranquillity of soul, simplicity of heart, bond of love, union of charity" of which St Augustine spoke ("De Verb. Dom. Serm.", 58), originates in the friendship with God which grace brings with it; it is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit (cf. Gal 5:22-23). This is the only true kind of peace: "There is no true peace, just as there is no true grace, other than the grace and peace which come from God," St John Chrysostom teaches, "Possess this divine peace and you will have nothing to fear, even if you be threatened by the direct danger, whether from men or even from the demons themselves; whereas see how everything is a cause of fear for the man who is at war with God through sin" ("Hom. on 1 Cor", 1, "ad loc".).

4-9. After the greeting, words of thanksgiving conclude the introduction to the letter, before St Paul begins the doctrinal part. He reminds the Corinthians that they owe their privileged position to God. They, like all Christians, received God's grace in Christ, and that grace has enriched them in every way, for it causes man to share in God's very nature (cf. 2 Pet 1:4), raising him to an entirely new level of existence. This transfiguration enables a person, even here, to know the perfections of God's inner life and to partake of that life--albeit in a limited, imperfect way--through the theological virtues of faith, hope and charity, which grace brings and which elevate the mind and will to know and love God, One and Three.

St Paul teaches the need to give thanks to God and he sets us an example in this regard. Obdurate sinners fail to acknowledge the benefits God gives them (cf. Rom 1:21), but Christians should always base their prayer on gratitude to God (cf. Phil 4:6). "Nothing charms God more than a heart that is grateful either on its own account or on account of others" (Chrysostom, "Hom. on 1 Cor", 2, "ad loc".).

5-6. The grace of God, mentioned in the previous verse, embraces gifts, including those to do with eloquence and knowledge. So richly does God endow the Christian that St Alphonsus exclaims: "Our wretchedness should not make us uneasy, for in Jesus crucified we shall find all richness and all grace (cf. 1 Cor 1:5, 7). The merits of Jesus Christ have enriched us with all the wealth of God and there is no grace we might desire that we cannot obtain by asking for it" ("The Love of God Reduced to Practice", chap. 3). The Fathers interpret these gifts as meaning that the Corinthians had such a good grasp of Christian teaching that they were able to express it clearly: "There are those who have the gift of knowledge but not that of speech; and there are others who have the gift of speech but not knowledge. The faithful in general, who are uneducated, know these truths, but they cannot clearly explain what they have in their soul. You on the other hand, St Paul says, are different; you know these truths and you can speak about them; you are rich in the gift of speech and in that of knowledge" (Chrysostom, "Hom. on 1 Cor", 2, "ad loc".).

8-9. "The day of our Lord': in St Paul's writings and in the New Testament generally, this refers to the day of the General Judgment when Christ will appear as Judge, clothed in glory (cf. 2 Cor 1:14; 1 Thess 5:2).

Christians actively hope that that Day will find them "blameless" (cf. Phil 1:10; 1 Thess 3:13; 5:23); the basis for this hope is God's faithfulness--an attitude frequently applied to him in the Old Testament (cf. Deut 7:9; Is 49:7) and in St Paul's letters (cf. 1 Cor 10:13; 2 Cor 1:18; 1 Thess 5:24; 2 Thess 3:3; Heb 10:23): the Covenant which God made with the chosen people was primarily a gift and a grace, but it also was a legal commitment. The Covenant was grounded on God's fidelity, which was not merely a matter of legal obligation: it involved faithful, constant love. The God's fidelity will finds its fullest expression in the Redemption brought about by Jesus Christ: "If, in fact, the reality of the Redemption," Pope John Paul II says, "in its human dimension, reveals the unheard-of greatness of man, "qui talem ac tantum meruit habere Redemptorem", at the same time "the divine dimension of the Redemption" enables us [...] to uncover the depth of that love which does not recoil before the extraordinary sacrifice of the Son, in order to satisfy the fidelity of the Creator and Father towards human beings, created in his image" ("Dives In Misericordia", 7).

Gospel Reading:

From: Matthew 23:27-32

From: Mark 6:17-29

John the Baptist Beheaded
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[17] For Herod had sent and seized John, and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife; because he had married her. [18] For John said to Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife." [19] And Herodias had a grudge against him, and wanted to kill him. But she could not, [20] for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and kept him safe. When he heard him, he was much perplexed; and yet he heard him gladly. [21] But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his courtiers and officers and the leading men of Galilee. [22] For when Herodias' daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests; and the king said to the girl, "Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will grant it." [23] And he said to her, "Whatever you ask me, I will give you, even half of my kingdom." [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 immediately the king sent a soldier of the guard and gave him orders to bring his head. He went and beheaded him in 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 special 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 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 obliged: we sin by making such oaths, for they are prohibited by the Law of God or of the Church.

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Readings at Mass

You have been enriched in many ways in Christ

The beheading of John the Baptist

Stand up and tell them all I command you; do not be dismayed at their presence

The beheading of John the Baptist

Christian Art

Catena Aurea by St. Thomas Aguinas

Saint of the Day for August 29

(1st. century)