Daily Gospel Reflection
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July 31, 2021
Herod the tetrarch heard of the reputation of Jesus
and said to his servants, “This man is John the Baptist.
He has been raised from the dead;
that is why mighty powers are at work in him.”
Now Herod had arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison
on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip,
for John had said to him,
“It is not lawful for you to have her.”
Although he wanted to kill him, he feared the people,
for they regarded him as a prophet.
But at a birthday celebration for Herod,
the daughter of Herodias performed a dance before the guests
and delighted Herod so much
that he swore to give her whatever she might ask for.
Prompted by her mother, she said,
“Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.”
The king was distressed,
but because of his oaths and the guests who were present,
he ordered that it be given, and he had John beheaded in the prison.
His head was brought in on a platter and given to the girl,
who took it to her mother.
His disciples came and took away the corpse
and buried him; and they went and told Jesus.
We have spent weeks reading about the many miracles witnessed by those who have faith. In contrast, this gospel takes us to a bad party where exploitation, manipulation, pride, and murder are all present.
Herod’s hesitation to kill John reminds me of Pilate’s reluctance to crucify Jesus. Yet, both of those powerful leaders eventually went along with the crowd. Neither of them was willing to courageously release innocent men or let the words John and Jesus spoke move them to do what was right.
As disciples of Christ, we know that our lives should be centered on God, not on ourselves or what we want. Still, stubbornness and pride are like thorny weeds that grow through the cracks in the sidewalks of our hearts. They can be removed with frequent confession and acts of contrition. Prayer and fasting are tools we use to experience freedom from the attachment to public opinion and material things. We can strengthen our relationship with Jesus if we ask for the humility to live our lives for him.
St. John Vianney was a priest who had a gift for spending 16 hours a day in the confessional and for being able to read people’s souls. On the entrance to a chapel that he dedicated to John the Baptist, he painted the words, “His head was the price of a dance.” Like St. John Vianney, we can admire John the Baptist as a person who lived humbly, spoke courageously, and who was a martyr for the sanctity of marriage.
What is sacred in our lives? Do our relationships with the people we love lead them closer to God? May we be more courageous and loving with our encounters, remembering that we are here to help our brothers and sisters in Christ onward toward the goal of heaven.
Prayer
When you walked the earth, Lord, there was the same kind of violence we see in our day. Violent men threw John into prison and raged against the kingdom you were establishing. Help us counteract the violence of our time by being men and women who try to advance your kingdom of peace. Amen.
Saint of the Day
St. Ignatius of Loyola founded the Society of Jesus—known as the Jesuits today—and transformed Christian spirituality with his life of prayer.
He was born in Spain to a family of nobility in 1491, the youngest of 13 children. As a boy he served as a page in the royal Spanish court, and grew up to become a soldier. In a battle with the French in 1521, a cannon ball broke his leg. It was badly set on the field, and required several other operations. In the end, his leg was permanently damaged—he walked with a pronounced limp for the rest of his life.
He spent months in a hospital bed recovering from this wound. He asked for books to read about knights and romances, but he only had access to two works—a collection of stories about saints, and a telling of the life of Christ. He read them reluctantly just to pass the time, but became enthralled by the heroism of holiness. He said to himself, “These people were of the same stuff as I am, why shouldn’t I do what they have done?”
He resolved to spend his like seeking holiness and went to live near a house of Dominicans, finding shelter in a simple hut and sometimes in a cave. He spent a year growing in prayer and discipline. During this time, he began to experience turbulence in his spiritual life—he saw visions and had great consolations, yet within a year was nearly driven to despair by fear. He began to keep a record of his spiritual life and his prayer, which led him to eventually compose his famous Spiritual Exercises.
Prayer and meditation have always been a part of the Christian way of life, but not until Ignatius had someone written a structured program for prayer. His Exercises describes an order for meditations and suggests guidelines and insights about the experience of prayer. Discernment is the ultimate aim of the Exercises—the clarification of what will most glorify God and lead to perfection.
Ignatius later decided to travel to Rome and the Holy Land to see if he could help the cause of Christianity there. He took on the clothes and lifestyle of a pilgrim and dedicated himself to God, but returned not knowing what he might do with his life.
At the age of 33, he decided to pursue an education as a way to help him learn better how he could serve others, but he had to start at the beginning. He sat in a classroom with young boys and began learning basic Latin grammar. He progressed in his studies, and traveled to several different schools, finally earning a masters degree at the age of 43 at the University of Paris.
He lived a humble life as a student, begging for food and living in a common hospice. He served the poor, and gathered children to teach them the faith. Several other students were attracted to his way of life, and a community was formed. They gave themselves to the service of God, and, if asked who they were, they decided to tell people that they were “in the company of Jesus.” The Society of Jesus was born, and the order came to place a priority on education as the arena for their work and ministry.
Ignatius spent the rest of his life organizing and leading this new society. He was known for his deep affection for people, and for his simplicity and humility. The first band of men who had gathered around him had been sent to the corners of the known world, and in his 15 years of leadership, the order grew to more than 1,000 members.
Ignatius was frequently ill during his life, and so no one paid special notice when he fell sick in July of his 65th year. His death on this date in 1556 surprised everyone—he had not even been anointed.
Today the Jesuits are the largest order of priests and brothers in the world. They are well-known for their ministry of education—the order has some 17,000 members, and leads more than 500 universities and colleges. They teach hundreds of thousands of students every year.
Ignatius adopted the IHS symbol, a Greek monogram for the name of Jesus Christ, as an emblem for the order. He is shown in this mural from the Basilica holding a book with this symbol and with the words, Ad maiorem Dei gloriam, which is Latin for “To the greater glory of God,” a phrase that he often used. St. Ignatius is also depicted in a stained glass window in the Dillon Hall chapel, and his relics rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica.
St. Ignatius, who was inspired by the lives of the saints to give his life for the glory of God, pray for us!