Lives of the Saints
1. THE BEHEADING OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST
Herod Antipas, the son of the elder Herod who slew the infants of Bethlehem at the time of the birth of the Lord Jesus, was the ruler of Galilee at the time of the preaching of John the Baptist. This Herod was married to the daughter of a certain Arabian prince, Aretas. But Herod, an evil shoot from an evil root, cast off his lawful wife and unlawfully took to himself as consort Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, who was still alive. Against this lawlessness John the Baptist rose up and mightily rebuked Herod. Herod cast him into prison. During a feast at his court in Sebastia of Galilee, Salome, the daughter of Herodias and Philip, danced before the guests. And the drunken Herod, carried away by the dance, promised the dancer to give her whatever she should ask of him, even up to half his kingdom. Prompted by her mother, Salome asked for the head of John the Baptist. Herod ordered that John be beheaded in prison, and his head brought on a platter. The disciples of John took the body of their teacher by night and honorably buried it, while Herodias pierced the tongue of John with a needle and buried the head in an unclean place. What happened afterward with the head of John can be read under February 24. But God's punishment quickly overtook this company of evildoers. Prince Aretas, to avenge the honor of his daughter, attacked Herod with his army and utterly defeated him. The vanquished Herod was condemned by the Roman Caesar Caligula to exile, first in Gaul and then in Spain. As exiles Herod and Herodias lived in misery and humiliation, until the earth opened and swallowed them. And Salome perished by an evil death on the river Sicorus (Sicoris). The death of Saint John occurred before Pascha, and the celebration on August 29 was established because on that day the church which Emperor Constantine and Empress Helena built over his grave in Sebastia was consecrated. In that church were also placed the relics of the disciples of John: Elisha and Obadiah.
2. VENERABLE THEODORA OF THESSALONICA
As the wife of a wealthy and pious man she lived on the island of Aegina. But when the Arabs threatened Aegina, they moved to Thessalonica. There they gave their only daughter to a monastery, and she received the monastic name Theopista. Soon Theodora's husband reposed, and Theodora too was tonsured a nun. She was a great ascetic. She often heard angelic singing and said to the sisters: "Do you not hear how wondrously the angels sing in the heavenly sanctuary?" She reposed at the age of seventy-five, in the year 879. From her body flowed healing myrrh, by which many were healed.
3. HOLY MARTYR BASILISSA
She suffered for Christ in Sirmium.
4. HOLY MARTYR ANASTASIUS
A young man from Radovishte, of the Diocese of Strumica. He learned a trade in Thessalonica. The Turks compelled him to convert to Islam, which he firmly refused, for which he was tortured and finally hanged on August 29, 1794.
“But God's punishment quickly overtook this company of evildoers.”
Hymn of Praise
O holy John, wondrous Baptist,
Thou wast the Forerunner of the glorious Savior,
By thy purity thou didst awaken human souls
And like a fearsome trumpet from the Jordan thou didst thunder,
Rousing men from the sleep of slothful vice,
When the axe was laid near to the root.
I bow down before thee, I pray to thee:
Help me to withstand every temptation.
I bow down before thee, mightiest of prophets,
And before thee I kneel, and before thee I weep:
Give me of thy heart, the strength of a lion;
Give me of thy spirit, the whiteness of angels.
Give me of thy power, that I may attain by proof
To be obedient to God and to rule over myself,
To be baptized by fasting, to be purified by vigil,
To be sweetened by prayer and by heavenly vision,
And without fear to walk toward every martyrdom
With thy courage and with a faith that is strong.
O holy John, pleaser of God,
And glorious martyr for the truth on high,
Thou before whom the armies of the wicked tremble,
Turn not a deaf ear to my supplication,
But strengthen me by thy prayers,
That like a candle I may stand upright before the Lord.
“Give me of thy heart, the strength of a lion; give me of thy spirit, the whiteness of angels.”
Reflection
If you observe how people die, you will see that the death of one man usually resembles his sin. As it is written: All they that take the sword shall perish with the sword (Matthew 26:52). Every sin is a sword, and usually people are cut down by that sin which they most eagerly committed. An example of this is furnished by Salome, the vile daughter of Herodias, who asked for and received from Herod the head of John the Baptist on a platter. Living in Spain, in the city of Lerida, with the exiled Herod and Herodias, she went one day across the frozen river Sicorus. The ice broke, and she fell into the water up to her throat. Blocks of ice pressed around her throat, and she thrashed about, dancing with her legs in the water, as she had once danced in the court of Herod. But she could neither rise nor sink, until the sharp ice severed her head. Her body was carried away by the water, and her head was brought to Herodias on a platter, as once the head of John the Baptist had been brought. Behold how terribly death resembles the sin committed!
“Behold how terribly death resembles the sin committed!”
Contemplation
Contemplate the righteousness of David (II Samuel 3), namely:
1. How Abner the commander, an adversary of David, surrendered himself to David on his word of honor;
2. How Joab, David's commander, slew Abner;
3. How David cursed the house of Joab and wept much for Abner.
Homily
on the healing of mankind by the wound of Christ
By the wound of Christ we were healed; so the prophet of God prophesied, and we now know that his prophecy is true. By the suffering of Christ we were saved from eternal suffering; by His most pure blood we were cleansed of the leprosy of sin and brought to life. Our blood and flesh had become unclean from sinful passions; and our spirit, the nest and source of bodily uncleanness, had first become unclean. Can the unclean be cleansed by the unclean? Can soiled linen be washed with soiled water? It cannot. Only that which is clean can wash that which is unclean. That the human race is unclean — even the pagans feel this. But they would cleanse the unclean by the unclean: first, by invoking unclean spirits and worshiping them; and second, by offering unclean sacrifices, whether human or animal. One drop of the most pure blood of Christ can cleanse the human race more than all the idolatrous sacrifices since the beginning of the world. Why? Because the blood of Christ is pure, and everything else is impure. Physicians take one drop of some potent medicine, dilute it, and with it inoculate many people to protect them from illness. And the blood of Christ in the Chalice we dilute with water, and then we receive it and drink it, for it is said that when they pierced the body of the Lord with a spear, there came out blood and water (John 19:34). Such is the power of one drop of His blood that the world could burn from it. This is sinless blood, the only sinless blood; most pure blood, the only pure blood in the world. O if only people knew what the power of absolute purity is! All who are impure from sin would rush to be cleansed by the most pure Christ, and all who are infirm would rush to partake of the blood and body of Christ; and all who are unbelieving would believe in Christ. For here are three things, and all three are pure and purify: pure spirit, pure blood, pure body. And only that which is pure can cleanse the impure; and that which is healthy can heal the unhealthy; and that which is mighty can raise up the powerless. O Lord, our all-powerful Lord, cleanse us sinners by Thy bloody wound, Thy innocent and most pure wound. To Thee be glory and praise forever. Amen.
“One drop of the most pure blood of Christ can cleanse the human race more than all the idolatrous sacrifices since the beginning of the world. Why? Because the blood of Christ is pure, and everything else is impure.”