August 29, 2013

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Memorial of the Passion of Saint John the Baptist 
Lectionary: 428/634

Reading 11 THES 3:7-13

We have been reassured about you, brothers and sisters,
in our every distress and affliction, through your faith.
For we now live, if you stand firm in the Lord.

The wording is a little confusing to me.  But St. Paul seems to be praising the Thessalonians for their faithful assistance when the Apostles needed it.

What thanksgiving, then, can we render to God for you,
for all the joy we feel on your account before our God?

Because of this, they thank God for the joy the Thessalonians have given them.

Night and day we pray beyond measure to see you in person
and to remedy the deficiencies of your faith.

And they pray for an opportunity to see the Thessalonians again and to show them more about the Faith of Jesus Christ.

Now may God himself, our Father, and our Lord Jesus
direct our way to you, and may the Lord make you increase
and abound in love for one another and for all,
just as we have for you,
so as to strengthen your hearts,
to be blameless in holiness before our God and Father
at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his holy ones. Amen.

And he ends with a prayer that God may make them holy and strengthen them to persevere in good works to the end.  Amen.

Responsorial PsalmPS 90:3-5A, 12-13, 14 AND 17

R. (14) Fill us with your love, O Lord, and we will sing for joy!
You turn man back to dust,
saying, “Return, O children of men.”
For a thousand years in your sight
are as yesterday, now that it is past,
or as a watch of the night.
R. Fill us with your love, O Lord, and we will sing for joy!
Teach us to number our days aright,
that we may gain wisdom of heart.
Return, O LORD! How long?
Have pity on your servants!
R. Fill us with your love, O Lord, and we will sing for joy!
Fill us at daybreak with your kindness,
that we may shout for joy and gladness all our days.
And may the gracious care of the LORD our God be ours;
prosper the work of our hands for us!
Prosper the work of our hands!
R. Fill us with your love, O Lord, and we will sing for joy!

When things look bleak, turn to God in prayer and never give up.  God with you always.

GospelMK 6:17-29

Herod was the one who had John the Baptist 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.”

Herod arrested St. John because St. John reprimanded him for having an affair with his brother's wife.

Herodias ...

Herodias is the brother's wife.  Which I find a bit confusing because she bears their last name as her first name, apparently?

…harbored a grudge against him
and wanted to kill him but was unable to do so.

Herodias, the woman in question, wanted St. John killed because he was endangering her position as the mistress of the most powerful man in Jerusalem.

Herod feared John, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man,
and kept him in custody.

But Herod himself, seemed to have a bit of a conscience and recognized that St. John was a holy man.

When he heard him speak he was very much perplexed,
yet he liked to listen to him.

He enjoyed listening to St. John even though he did not obey St. John's advice.

She 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.
Herodias’ own daughter came in
and performed a dance that delighted Herod and his guests.

However, the woman, Herodias, had an opportunity to kill St. John on Herod's birthday.  Her daughter danced before him and his guests and delighted them all.

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.”

At that time, he offered her anything that she wanted.

She went out and said to her mother,
“What shall I ask for?”

So, she went to  her mother to ask for advice.

She 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.”

And the young girl asked for the life of St. 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.

And because he had painted himself into a corner in front of all the guests, Herod could not deny the request.

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.

So he had St. John beheaed and the head brought to the girl, who 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.

When St. John's disciples heard about it, they asked for his body in order to give him a decent burial.