Daily Gospel Reflection
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February 4, 2022
King Herod heard about Jesus, for his fame had become widespread,
and people were saying,
“John the Baptist has been raised from the dead;
that is why mighty powers are at work in him.”
Others were saying, “He is Elijah”;
still others, “He is a prophet like any of the prophets.”
But when Herod learned of it, he said,
“It is John whom I beheaded. He has been raised up.”
Herod was the one who had John arrested and bound in prison
on account of Herodias,
the wife of his brother Philip, whom he had married.
John had said to Herod,
“It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”
Herodias harbored a grudge against him
and wanted to kill him but was unable to do so.
Herod feared John, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man,
and kept him in custody.
When he heard him speak he was very much perplexed,
yet he liked to listen to him.
Herodias had an opportunity one day when Herod, on his birthday,
gave a banquet for his courtiers, his military officers,
and the leading men of Galilee.
His own daughter came in and performed a dance
that delighted Herod and his guests.
The king said to the girl,
“Ask of me whatever you wish and I will grant it to you.”
He even swore many things to her,
“I will grant you whatever you ask of me,
even to half of my kingdom.”
She went out and said to her mother,
“What shall I ask for?”
Her mother replied, “The head of John the Baptist.”
The girl hurried back to the king’s presence and made her request,
“I want you to give me at once on a platter
the head of John the Baptist.”
The king was deeply distressed,
but because of his oaths and the guests
he did not wish to break his word to her.
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.
When his disciples heard about it,
they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.
John The Baptist heralded the coming of Jesus Christ the Messiah and awakened the conscience of many people by speaking directly against his time’s personal and social evils. Like St. John the Baptist, there have been others who denounced and rallied against the sins of their times.
Today we remember the birthday of another prophetic voice and conscience in our modern era: Rosa Parks. Her strategic act of civil disobedience sparked the 1958 Montgomery Bus Boycott and ignited the mass civil resistance against the injustices and indignities of Jim Crow in the American South. Many today admire and applaud her courage in resisting and even defying racial segregation. However, fewer are aware of her prior work.
For years, Rosa Parks was a fearless anti-rape activist and investigator who often risked her life to seek justice for Black women who were rape survivors in the South. Arguably, Parks’ most famous case was on behalf of Recy Taylor.
Despite death threats, Parks spearheaded the creation of the Committee for Equal Justice for Mrs. Recy Taylor (CEJRT). CEJRT, based in Montgomery, Alabama, drew unprecedented national and international attention to the rape of Recy Taylor and, by extension, countless other
Black women at the time. As such, CEJRT became the blueprint for mass mobilization for racial justice. Interestingly, CEJRT later became the Montgomery Improvement Association which launched the famous Montgomery Bus Boycott.
Let us ask ourselves: Are we willing to speak up like John the Baptist, or are we more inclined to remain silent out of fear? Will we push past the obstacles like Rosa Parks or become overwhelmed at the ongoing challenges ahead?
Drawing from the inspiration of those who have gone before us, how does our faith in Jesus prepare us to confront the individual and structural sins of today?
Prayer
Lord, you suffered the news of the death of your herald and companion John the Baptist. Yet you also discerned in his death the power of his faith, for he was willing to give everything for his belief in God. Be close to us and those we love in all our trials. Help us to rely on the power of our faith in you, that our witness in times of trial may be a light for others. Amen.
Saint of the Day
Venerable Pierre Toussaint, the first layperson to be buried in the crypt under the high altar of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City is an inspiring figure whose cause for canonization is currently underway.
Pierre Toussaint was born in June 1766 on the Caribbean island that is now Haiti and the Dominican Republic. His mother was enslaved, thus Pierre became the property of the Bérard family. While enslaved himself, Pierre learned to read and write alongside the children of his enslavers.
The Bérards returned to France, leaving their eldest son, Jean, in charge of the plantation. In 1787, in the face of mounting unrest that would become the Haitian Revolution, leading to the Islands and its enslaved peoples independence, Jean Bérard and his wife fled to New York City, taking Pierre and his sister Rosalie with them.
Bérard soon returned to Haiti and died. Pierre became the main breadwinner for the household, as he was apprenticed to New York’s chief hairdresser. Pierre was allowed to keep his allowance, yet he continued to support the widowed Madame Bérard until she married again. Mrs. Philip Schuyler (mother of the now-famous Schuyler Sisters and mother-in-law of Alexander Hamilton), who wrote an early biography of Pierre, noted his extreme kindness to Madame Bérard. On her deathbed, Madame Bérard’s dying wish was for Pierre to be freed.
At the age of forty-five, Pierre was freed and he paid for his sister Rosalie’s freedom. In 1811, he redeemed his young bride, Juliet, from slavery and they were wed. Together, they cared for Pierre’s orphaned niece and raised her as their own.
Pierre became a hero of the immigrant Haitian community in New York—he and Juliet provided employment services, lodging, and a credit union for newly freed slaves arriving in the Port of Manhattan. Pierre raised money for the first Catholic school for free black children in New York and for the church that would become the Basilica of Old St. Patrick’s Cathedral, which still stands today.
In 1853, Pierre died at the ripe old age of eighty-seven, and his remains were buried in Old St. Patrick’s, next to Juliet’s. They were later transferred together to the crypt in the new St. Patrick’s Cathedral, where they remain today.
In 1996, John Paul II declared Pierre Toussaint Venerable, the first step towards canonization. As a Venerable, Pierre Toussaint does not yet have a feast day, but prayers may be offered, asking for his intercession.
Venerable Pierre Toussaint, who used new-found freedom and hard-earned prosperity to generously serve others—pray for us!
Venerable Pierre Toussaint's enslavers were Catholic, even though the Church forbids the enslavement of human beings for any purpose (CCC 2414). To learn more about the Church's involvement with the horrors of American slavery, read this article from the University of Notre Dame's Cushwa Center.
Image Credit: Our featured image of Venerable Pierre Toussaint is in the public domain. Last accessed January 23, 2025 on Wikimedia Commons.
