Mark 6: 17-29 (Wednesday, August 29, 2007 Beheading of John the Baptist)

The feast of today is a celebration of courage, courage to preach the truth. John dared to preach the truth to Herod who was a despot and had the life or death of John within his control. John however knew that the truth was more important than his life and he hoped for a life beyond the temporal life on earth. John knew what the truth is and was ready to preach it irrespective of the consequences. The truth is always not very fashionable. The truth is also not very popular. If you stand for the truth, you will always find yourself alone. Yet, this is what Jesus calls us his followers to do. He says the spirit of truth will teach us all that we need to know. Have we always been faithful to the Christian truth or do we always go with the crowd? As Christian people, we are invited to hold and teach the truth. This will come with a lot of consequences. In some parts of the world, this might still lead to your death like in the case of John the Baptist. In our beloved country, the United States, you head will not likely be chopped off because you spoke the Christian truth, but sure, you might be attacked by the media, members of other religions and co-workers. Just know that you are not alone – Jesus Christ, the Blessed Virgin Mary, the angels and the saints are with you. The truth is always victorious.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus Christ, you have not given to us the spirit of timidity. You have given to us the spirit of boldness. Give us the courage we need to speak the truth without coloring it. Help us to always stand for the truth even when it will get us into trouble.