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The Passion of Saint John the Baptist

memorial Ordinary Time
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Selected Mass Reading

Gospel — Mark 6:17-29

For Herod himself had sent and apprehended John, and bound him prison for the sake of Herodias the wife of Philip his brother, because he had married her. For John said to Herod: It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife. Now Herodias laid snares for him: and was desirous to put him to death and could not. For Herod feared John, knowing him to be a just and holy man: and kept him, and when he heard him, did many things: and he heard him willingly. And when a convenient day was come, Herod made a supper for his birthday, for the princes, and tribunes, and chief men of Galilee. And when the daughter of the same Herodias had come in, and had danced, and pleased Herod, and them that were at table with him, the king said to the damsel: Ask of me what thou wilt, and I will give it thee. And he swore to her: Whatsoever thou shalt ask I will give thee, though it be the half of my kingdom. Who when she was gone out, said to her mother, What shall I ask? But her mother said: The head of John the Baptist. And when she was come in immediately with haste to the king, she asked, saying: I will that forthwith thou give me in a dish, the head of John the Baptist. And the king was struck sad. Yet because of his oath, and because of them that were with him at table, he would not displease her: But sending an executioner, he commanded that his head should be brought in a dish. And he beheaded him in the prison, and brought his head in a dish: and gave to the damsel, and the damsel gave it her mother. Which his disciples hearing came, and took his body, and laid it in a tomb.

Feast Days

Saint Médéric
Saint Médéric Monk, Abbot, Hermit 700–700

Saint Médéric, also known as Saint Merri, was born into an illustrious family in the Morvan region near Autun in France. Offered to God as a child oblate at the Abbey of Saint-Martin in Autun, he grew in a hidden life of prayer, obedience, and striking asceticism. His holiness became known beyond the cloister, and around 680 the monks chose him as abbot. Yet the honors and the crowds drawn by reports of miracles weighed on his humble heart, and he longed for solitude, even attempting to withdraw to the forests of the Morvan. Later, with his disciple Frodulphe, Médéric set out on pilgrimage toward the tombs of Saint Denis and Saint Germain. Along the way he was remembered for works of mercy and miraculous help, especially the freeing of prisoners and the healing of the sick, and for giving away gifts to the poor. Reaching Paris, he lived as a recluse near Saint-Pierre-des-Bois until he died in peace on August 29, 700. Venerated as patron of Paris’s right bank and honored at Saint-Merri, his feast day is August 29.

 Saint Sabina
Saint Sabina Martyr, Roman matron 100–126

Saint Sabina was born in Avezzano in the region of Abruzzo and later lived in Rome, where she became known as a noblewoman of faith. The daughter of Herod Metallarius and the wealthy widow of Senator Valentinus, she encountered Christianity through the quiet witness of her Syrian slave, Serapia. Moved by Serapia’s example, Sabina embraced the Gospel and withdrew with a few devout companions to one of her country estates, dedicating herself to prayer and works of mercy. When Serapia was denounced and beheaded at Vindena in Umbria, Sabina reverently gathered her relics and laid them to rest in her family mausoleum, hoping to share in her friend’s burial and in her hope of resurrection. Not long after, Sabina herself was accused of being a Christian by the prefect Elpidio and suffered martyrdom in Rome around AD 126. Her memory has long been honored in both East and West, and her relics were later enshrined on the Aventine Hill in the basilica of Santa Sabina. She is invoked as patroness of Mariana Mantovana, Olot, Pattada, Sainte-Sabine, and Torre Santa Sabina. Her feast day is August 29.