[Catholic Caucus Devotional] My Catholic Life! Catholic Daily Reflections: The “Good” Life

Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was happening, and he was greatly perplexed because some were saying, “John has been raised from the dead”; others were saying, “Elijah has appeared”; still others, “One of the ancient prophets has arisen.” But Herod said, “John I beheaded. Who then is this about whom I hear such things?” And he kept trying to see him. Luke 9:7–9

Something peculiar happens when those who refuse to live according to God’s will witness His presence in the lives of others—they become unsettled, even confused. Herod was one of these souls. Though Jewish by name, he lived a life of self-indulgence, pride, and moral compromise. Upon hearing of Jesus and His mighty works, Herod’s fascination was mingled with inner disturbance. His conscience was especially agitated by guilt over his execution of John the Baptist.

Herod’s perplexity did not arise from a sincere openness to faith, but from fear, guilt, and superstition. Sin had so darkened his heart that he could not perceive the grace of God manifest in Christ. The Gospel tells us that despite Herod’s interior turmoil, “he kept trying to see Him.” This desire reveals a divided soul—one curious about the truth, yet unwilling to embrace it.

Herod offers us not an example of virtue, but a warning. Those who resist the will of God may still catch glimpses of Him through the holiness of others. But without repentance, such encounters bring neither peace nor clarity. In Herod’s case, his fascination resulted first in torment, then in silence. When Jesus finally stood before Herod during the Passion, our Lord did not utter a word. That silence was a judgment upon his hardened heart.

Looking at Herod’s life, many might have envied him. He was rich, powerful, dined in luxury, lived in magnificent palaces, and enjoyed the protection of Rome. Though such monarchs are rare today, the allure of worldly wealth and fame remains strong. The modern equivalents—the celebrities, influencers, and elite—draw millions of admirers. Social media exalts their lifestyles, while the world glorifies indulgence, comfort, and social prestige.

But to what end? Is it to enjoy life in the moment, seizing every earthly pleasure? What happens when this life ends and we stand before the Judgment Seat of God? At that hour, every fleeting comfort will vanish, and we will be left with the state of our soul. Herod’s worldly success was ultimately empty. He lacked peace in this life, and, without conversion, his eternal fate was sealed in that same unrest.

Herod’s life is depicted in the Gospels for a reason. From his example, we must lift the veil of worldly and sensory indulgence and see them for what they are—not only in light of their eternal consequences, but also the interior ruin they cause even now. Such a life has no power to save, no ability to satisfy beyond the moment, and always leaves the soul perplexed and curious—a curiosity that ends in confusion.

Reflect today on any lingering confusion, fear, or disordered curiosity you may carry when encountering Christ in your life. Do you approach Him like Herod—curious but uncommitted—or with a heart that is ready to be purified and transformed? Let the example of Herod lead you away from perplexity and into conversion. Truth Himself stands before you. Do not remain merely curious. Surrender in faith, and the riches of God’s Kingdom will be yours.

Lord of true riches, the power, wealth, and fleshly indulgences of this world are seductive. Please lift the veil from my eyes, so that I may see clearly the emptiness behind their promises. Free me from every deception, and draw my heart to desire only You. May Your Kingdom be my constant aim where freedom is found and the riches of grace and eternal happiness await. Jesus, I trust in You.

NAVARRE BIBLE COMMENTARY(RSV)

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

Today’s First Reading

From: Ecclesiastes 1:2-11

All is Vanity
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[2] Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher,
vanity of vanities! All is vanity.
[3] What does man gain by all the toil
at which he toils under the sun?
[4] A generation goes, and a generation comes,
but the earth remains for ever.
[5] The sun rises and the sun goes down.
and hastens to the place where it rises.
[6] The wind blows to the south,
and goes round to the north;
round and round goes the wind,
and on its circuits the wind returns.
[7] All streams run to the sea,
but the sea is not full;
to the place where the streams flow,
there they flow again.
[8] All things are full of weariness;
a man cannot utter it;
the eye is not satisfied with seeing,
nor the ear filled with hearing.
[9] What has been is what will be,
and what has been done is what will be done;
and there is nothing new under the sun.
[10] Is there a thing of which it is said,
"See, this is new"?
It has been already,
in the ages before us.
[11] There is no remembrance of former things,
nor will there be any remembrance
of later things yet to happen
among those who come after.

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Commentary:

1:1-2. The book begins and ends with the same words: "Vanity of vanities…" (v. 2; cf. 12:8). The phrase sums up wonderfully well the central idea of the book and is the sacred author's assessment of the things of the world and the fruits of human endeavour, included among the latter being the acquisition of a superficial type of knowledge or wisdom that is clearly at odds with what we know from experience. The Hebrew root of the word translated as "vanity" means something like the "vapour", "air", and conveys the idea of something with no consistency to it, illusion, unreality. Some scholars link it to another root that means "fleeting", "evanescent", in the sense of something that man cannot grasp, and that is certainly an aspect of what the author is saying throughout the book. "Vanity of vanities" is the Hebrew form of the superlative, as in "Song of Songs"…

When reading this book it is useful to bear in mind that the author is a Jewish teacher, very familiar with the Law and the wisdom tradition of Israel, which, in reaction to the arrival in Judea of various currents of Greek thought, was asking itself very seriously about the validity of its own answers about the value of human actions and the rewards or punishments that applied to them; could it be that the hedonistic ideas (which took no account of God) being put forward by Greek philosophers in the squares and streets – could these have some validity? The Preacher takes issue with both traditional wisdom and the Greeks. With a great deal of common sense, he questions all these teachings (which were widely accepted) and concludes that they are approaching the subject in the wrong way. It is not that he is skeptical about the human mind's ability to know reality; what he objects to is the failure of seekers after wisdom to go to the root of the problem: "The book of Ecclesiastes explains that exactly things are made of, and shows and makes clear to us the vanity of many of the things of the world, so that we might come to understand that the passing things of this life are not worth hungering for, and that we should not devote our attention to useless things or fix our desires on any creating thing" (St. Basil, “In principium Proverbiorum”, 1).

1:3-6:12. The first part of the book is devoted to showing that the type of wisdom man is bent on acquiring is of no use at all. To do this, it points out that if one looks around, one gets the impression that everything in the world forms part of one continuous cyclical movement in which one can never expect anything new to happen: things that seem new are not new at all (1:3-11). It goes on to argue, from experience, that the search for wisdom serves no purpose, for the wise man's lot remains unchanged, no matter what he learns (1:12-2:26). To compound his argument, the Preacher goes on to report what he has seen – fraud and loneliness . . . And from his observation of things around him, he draws a similar conclusion: this, too, is vanity and a waste of effort (3:1-4:16). That being so, in a series of counsels (5:1-12) he expounds the key lesson of the book: "Do you fear God" (5:7). In other words, if one does not take God into account, even riches bring only evils (5:13-6:7). That being the case, what advantages does wisdom offer (6:8-12)? In this way the teacher of Israel, using a rhetoric similar to that of his Hellenist adversaries, composes a diatribe to show that the reasonable thing to do is to put one's trust in God, for all the wisdom of this world is in vain. Both of these notions – true wisdom and the fear of God – will be perfected in the New Testament message. True wisdom is in "Christ, in whom are had all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Col 2:2-3). And the fear of God should be understood as love, not servile fear, because God is our Father. That conviction should govern what we do: "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment and he who fears is not perfected in love (1 Jn 4:18).

1:3-11. In this splendid poem, which acts as a lead-in to his argument, the Preacher shows that if the elements of nature with their sometimes tedious movement change nothing in the established order of things, man likewise will change nothing in his life despite all his strivings (vv. 3-8). According to the Greek teachers, the entire cosmos was made up of four basic elements -- earth, fire, air and water. And the Preacher shows that, in fact, earth, sun, wind and waters always retain the same form despite all their movement. Noting, perhaps, the new ideas about the nature of the world that found their way into Judea at that time, the teacher of Israel takes pleasure in pointing out that things do not change, despite appearances to the contrary. The same holds for man: try as he may, he can find nothing new (vv. 8-11).

Today’s Gospel Reading

From: Luke 9:7-9

Herod's Opinion of Jesus
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[7] Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done, and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had been raised from the dead, [8] by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the old prophets had risen. [9] Herod said, "John I beheaded; but who is this about whom I hear such things?" And he sought to see Him.

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Commentary:

7-9. Except for the Sadducees, all Jews believed in the resurrection of the dead, as revealed by God in Sacred Scripture (cf. Ezekiel 37:10; Daniel 12:2 and 2 Maccabees 7:9). It was also commonly believed by Jews at the time that Elijah or some other prophet had to appear again (Deuteronomy 19:15). This may have been why Herod began to think that perhaps John had come back to life (Matthew 14:1-2 and Mark 6:14-16), particularly since Jesus worked miracles and people thought this power was the prerogative of those who had risen from the dead. And yet he was aware that Christ was working miracles even before John died (cf. John 2:23); therefore, at first, he was disconcerted. Later, as the fame of Christ's miracles spread, to have some sort of adequate explanation he decided, as the other Gospels tell us, that John must indeed have risen.

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