Memorial of the Passion of St John the Baptist

This is the will of God, your holiness:
that you refrain from immorality,
that each of you know how to acquire a wife for himself
in holiness and honor, not in lustful passion
as do the Gentiles who do not know God;
not to take advantage of or exploit a brother or sister in this matter,
for the Lord is an avenger in all these things,
as we told you before and solemnly affirmed. (1 Tes 4: 3-6)

I wished King Herod had listened and pondered in his heart the words of today’s first reading quoted above. For me the death of John the Baptist, after the death of our Savior, of course, remains always one of the greatest mysteries of human iniquity. The brutality and coldness with which this murder was performed, and the malice of Herod’s wife and daughter seem beyond human.

Call to Holiness

For God did not call us to impurity but to holiness St Paul writes so we can see the two extremes. In this case the far extreme is more than just impurity: it is murder. My question is, how can someone betray his or her conscience in such a way so as to perform an evil action and continue living a normal life? Was no one at the court of King Herod horrified at the scene…?

Herod committed this brutal crime on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, whom he had married… Herodias’ daughter went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?” She replied, “The head of John the Baptist.” Can a mother imagine a worse dialogue than this one?

And the whole matter-of-fact business was accomplished. Brutal pragmatism: So he promptly dispatched an executioner with orders to bring back his head. He went off and beheaded him in the prison. He brought in the head on a platter and gave it to the girl. The girl in turn gave it to her mother.

Jarring Effect?

The whole narration strikes me everytime I hear it. I hope it has the same effect on everyone of us. We listen to similar pieces of news about war in different parts of the world today. Do we remain cold and indifferent? What is wrong with human nature? Do people kill people just because they do not like them or just because some righteous people tell the truth others do not want to hear…?

St Thomas Aquinas quotes St Hilary commenting on this gospel passage: “forced by its sins, as by the force of an oath, as well as overcome by the fear, and corrupted by the example of the neighbouring princes, it sorrowfully yields to the blandishments of pleasure. So among the other gratifications of a debauched people the head of John is brought in a dish, that is by the loss of the Law, the pleasures of the body, and worldly luxury is increased. It is carried by the damsel to her mother; thus depraved Israel offered up the glory of the Law to pleasure and unbelief. The times of the Law being expired, and buried with John, his disciples declare what is done to the Lord, coming, that is, to the Gospels from the Law”. It is a display of all the potentialities of malice!!! The commentary ends this section with these words: “The beheading of John marks the increase of that fame which Christ has among the people, as the exaltation of the Lord upon the cross marks the progress of the faith; whence John had said, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (Jn 3:30). (Catena Aurea)

Great Example

The passion of John the Baptist has left us a great example of love for the Passion of Christ. He offered his life for the Truth. May the Lord, through the intercession of John, give us the grace to remain firm in our convictions and love of God.

God bless you all,

Fr. Marcelo Javier Navarro Muñoz, IVE

The Contribution of Cornelio Fabro to Fundamental Theology. Reason and Faith, Cambridge Scholars Publishing: htps://www.cambridgescholars.com/product/978-1-5275-9315-2

Poesía Sacra, Quemar las Naves, and Desde Fossanova, IVE Press: htps://ivepress.org/ 

The Decapitation of Saint John the Baptist, (1607) by Caravaggio[1]

[1] From htps://www.caravaggio.org/the-decapitation-of-saint-john-the-baptist.jsp, accessed 23 August 2025.

[Readings: 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8; Mark 6:17-29]