OLM Jersey City

09/08/2026

SAINT OF THE DAY

September 8: Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary—Feast

c. 15 BC
Patron Saint of chefs, cooks, distillers, drapers, fish dealers, goldsmiths, silversmiths, needlemakers, potters, restaurateurs, silkworkers, and tilemakers

Quote:
The present Feast forms a link between the New and the Old Testament. It shows that Truth succeeds symbols and figures and that the New Covenant replaces the Old. Hence, all creation sings with joy, exults, and participates in the joy of this day…. This is, in fact, the day on which the Creator of the world constructed His temple; today is the day on which by a stupendous project a creature becomes the preferred dwelling of the Creator. ~Saint Andrew of Crete

Reflection: On December 8, the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. That solemnity highlights the singular grace bestowed upon the Blessed Virgin Mary at the moment she was conceived. The Church dogma states, “…in the first instance of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin, is a doctrine revealed by God and therefore to be believed firmly and constantly by all the faithful” (Pope Pius IX, 1954).

Today’s Feast of the Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary is celebrated exactly nine months after the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, just as Christmas is celebrated nine months after the Church remembers the Incarnation of the Son of God on the Solemnity of the Annunciation. The birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary is one of three liturgical feasts in which we celebrate a birth: Christmas, the Birth of Saint John the Baptist, and the Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Only the three most consequential figures in the Bible receive the honor of a liturgical celebration to commemorate their births.

Nothing is known for certain about the birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary or of her upbringing, since the Bible only introduces the Mother of God to us for the first time during the Annunciation. However, an early second-century apocryphal text called the Protoevangelium of James (The Gospel of James), paints a detailed picture of her conception, birth, early years, and betrothal to Saint Joseph. Though the account is not part of the canon of Scripture, it has been a source of reflection throughout the centuries and is the source of the traditional names of the Blessed Mother’s parents, Joachim and Anne.

The actual feast we celebrate today is believed to have been first celebrated in the fifth or sixth century in the East and was tied to the dedication of a Byzantine church near the Pools of Bethesda in the Old City of Jerusalem. The church was built over what was believed to be the birthplace of Mary and the home of Joachim and Anne, just a short distance from the Temple. In the twelfth century, the current Basilica of Saint Anne was built on the same site. Beneath the basilica lie what are believed to be the caves in which the Mother of God was born and lived.

Regardless of whether the apocryphal Gospel of James presents accurate historical truths regarding the conception, birth, and early life of the Blessed Virgin Mary, it is not difficult to prayerfully ponder the importance of her birth and childhood. Saint Andrew of Crete beautifully relates that on this day, the “Creator of the world constructed His temple…” Mary is that temple, that Arc of the New Covenant, the tabernacle and first dwelling place of God Incarnate. Her soul was born pure, spotless, and holy. As she grew, she manifested every virtue perfectly. All who knew her as a child would have been deeply impressed by her sanctity.

Birthdays celebrate people. They are occasions to rejoice in and honor the whole life of that person. The other memorials, feasts, and solemnities of the liturgical year honor various specific aspects of Mary’s life. Today’s feast honors her whole life, her personhood, and the gift of who she was and is.

As we celebrate the birthday of the Mother of God, spend time pondering her soul. Though much of her earthly life has remained hidden from our eyes, she is the greatest saint to ever live and the holiest daughter of God this world has ever known. In Heaven, we will be in awe of her virtues and will forever rejoice in the great things God did in and through her. Begin that rejoicing today by prayerfully honoring her and pondering her, seeking her prayer for your life and for the whole world.

Prayer: Dearest Mother Mary, your conception was immaculate and your birth glorious. You were conceived without sin, born without sin, and remained sinless throughout your life. In Heaven, you radiate the beauty and splendor of God and will do so for all eternity. Please pray for me, that I will more fully imitate your many virtues, so that I can be a fitting instrument of your divine Son in the world. Mother Mary, pray for me. Jesus, I trust in You.

09/06/2026

23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

09/05/2026

SAINT OF THE DAY

September 5: Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta, Virgin—Optional Memorial
1910–1997

Patron Saint of Calcutta and the Missionaries of Charity
Canonized by Pope Francis on September 4, 2016
Liturgical Color: White

Quote:
It was a call within my vocation. It was a second calling. It was a vocation to give up even Loreto where I was very happy and to go out into the streets to serve the poorest of the poor. It was in that train, I heard the call to give up all and to follow Him into the slums—to serve Him in the poorest of the poor…I knew it was His will and that I had to follow Him. There was no doubt that it was going to be His work. ~Saint Mother Teresa

Reflection: Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta was born Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu in Skopje, present-day North Macedonia. At the time of her birth, Anjezë’s hometown was part of the vast, predominantly Muslim Ottoman Empire, which spanned three continents. Today, Skopje is considered the political, cultural, economic, and academic center of North Macedonia, with a rich and ancient history dating back to Roman times. Anjezë was the youngest of five children, two of whom died in infancy. Her parents were devout Catholics who raised her in the faith. Her baptismal name was Gonxhe, meaning “rosebud” or “little flower” in Albanian, and it was by this endearing name that she was often called as a child.

When Gonxhe was eight, her father died suddenly, plunging the family into financial difficulties. At the age of twelve, Gonxhe felt a divine calling to serve the poor. Upon turning eighteen, she left home, never to see her mother or sister again, and entered the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Ireland, known as the Loreto Nuns, with the desire to serve in India. After learning English in Ireland, she moved to India in 1929 and became a novice at the Loreto house in Darjeeling. In 1931, she made her first profession of vows, taking the name Teresa, after Saint Thérèse of Lisieux. She was assigned to the Loreto Entally community in Calcutta, where she taught at Saint Mary’s Bengali Medium School for girls. She made her final vows in 1937, upon which she assumed the name “Mother Teresa,” as was customary among the Loreto Sisters. She spent the following eleven years in Calcutta with the Loreto Sisters, totaling twenty years in all.

On September 10, 1946, when Mother Teresa was thirty-six, she was traveling by train roughly 400 miles from Calcutta to the mother house in Darjeeling for an annual retreat and time of rest. It was during this trip that something mystical occurred. Although she kept the details of that experience private, she later recounted, “I heard the call to give up all and to follow Him into the slums—to serve Him in the poorest of the poor…I knew it was His will and that I had to follow Him. There was no doubt that it was going to be His work.” How she heard this call remains a mystery, but it was so compelling and convincing that she spent the subsequent two years discerning this call, consulting her spiritual director, and ultimately obtaining permission from her religious superiors. Mother Teresa had received a “call within a call” to quench the thirst of Jesus by serving the poorest of the poor. September 10 would henceforth be celebrated as “Inspiration Day,” the day on which she believed God founded what would become the Missionaries of Charity. Over the next year and a half, Mother Teresa repeatedly heard the “Voice” speak to her, guiding her and calling her to trust, surrender, and love. “Come, come, carry Me into the holes of the poor. Come, be my light.”

The theme of Jesus’ thirst on the Cross would permeate everything Mother Teresa did from that time forward. It was the central mission she had received, the purpose of her life, and the reason God wanted her to found the Missionaries of Charity. Jesus, as the Infinite God, had an infinite thirst. With no end to the depth of Jesus’ thirst, there was no end to the depth of love she was called to give to Him by loving the poorest of the poor and all of God’s children. Not only was Mother Teresa called to quench Christ’s thirst in those whom she served, she was also called to encounter Jesus in them. They were Jesus, hidden in the distressing disguise of the poor.

After her retreat, Mother Teresa spoke to her spiritual director, Father Van Exem, about her calling. Although he knew this was from God, he decided to test the call and forbade her to talk about it or even to think about it. After four months, however, Father Exem felt the time was right and gave her permission to write to the archbishop. She wrote to him, sharing what Jesus spoke to her, “I want Indian nuns, Victims of My love…I want free nuns covered with my poverty of the Cross…I want obedient nuns covered with My obedience of the Cross…I want full of love nuns covered with the charity of the Cross. Will you refuse to do this for Me?”

During the four months prior to sending this letter, the other sisters noticed that Mother Teresa spent an unusually long time in the confessional with Father Exem. Suspecting an unhealthy attachment between them, her superiors transferred her to another convent. Furthermore, the archbishop had concerns about her call and instructed her to wait and pray. He informed her he was traveling to Rome and would not return for several months, at which time he would reconsider her request. After more back-and-forth letters and conversations with Father Exem, Father Exem presented Mother Teresa with a final test. He told her that she was to “drop the whole thing for eternity,” never to bring it up again unless he or the archbishop initiated the conversation. Mother Teresa obeyed, and some months later Father Exem raised the topic again. He and the archbishop continued to test her and even challenge her. She responded from her heart, sharing everything the “Voice” had said to her. Finally, on January 6, 1948, the archbishop gave her permission to proceed. He later wrote to the Loreto superior, “I am deeply convinced that by withholding my consent, I would hamper the realization, through her, of the will of God.” After receiving permission from the Loreto Superior, as well as from the Holy See, Mother Teresa began her new mission on August 17, 1948, almost two years after her “Inspiration Day.”

On December 21, 1948, after completing medical training, Mother Teresa began her life as a Missionary of Charity in the slums of Calcutta. Calcutta had been heavily affected by World War II, famine, and ongoing riots. Countless people were homeless, poor, uneducated, and suffering intensely. After securing a place to live, Mother Teresa began caring for the poor. She dressed their wounds, showed compassion for the suffering, listened to their stories, provided them with food, and treated them as if they were Jesus. This was a novel approach in India where poverty was sometimes viewed as a result of bad karma. In March 1949, one of her former students joined her in the work. By the following year, her companions numbered twelve. On October 7, 1950, with the approval of the Holy See, the Missionaries of Charity were formally established in the Archdiocese of Calcutta. In addition to the usual three vows, the Missionaries of Charity took a fourth vow “to devote themselves with abnegation to the care of the poor and needy who, crushed by want and destitution, live in conditions unworthy of human dignity.”

By the early 1960s, the number of sisters continued to grow, and houses were established in various parts of India. Shortly thereafter, the Missionaries expanded their reach to Venezuela, Rome, and Tanzania. In 1963, the Missionaries of Charity Brothers was established. A contemplative branch of the sisters was founded in 1976, followed by the Contemplative Brothers in 1979, and the Missionaries of Charity Fathers in 1984. In 1962, Mother Teresa received the Padma Shri Award from the Republic of India, and in 1979, she was honored with the Nobel Peace Prize, which she accepted “in the name of the hungry, of the naked, of the homeless, of the crippled, of the blind, of the leprous, of all those people who feel unwanted, unloved, uncared, thrown away of the society, people who have become a burden to the society, and are ashamed by everybody.” After that, she was sought out and welcomed by kings, dictators, presidents, prime ministers, and religious leaders and enjoyed an open door from the pope any time she was in Rome. Her influence on an international level was profound, yet she remained deeply humble and devoted to her central mission of love. By the 1990s, houses had been set up on every continent, including nearly every communist country. By the time of her death in 1997, the Missionaries of Charity numbered about 4,000, across 610 foundations in 123 countries. Two years after her death, Pope John Paul II opened her cause for canonization. He beatified her in 2003, and she was canonized by Pope Francis in 2016.

Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta was one of the greatest saints in all of history. After her death, those closest to her shared many of her private letters that tell an incredible story. From the time she began her work with the poor and suffering, she started to experience an inner darkness, a complete loss of the sense of God’s presence. This interior darkness mirrors the spiritual writings of the greatest mystics, such as Saints John of the Cross and Teresa of Ávila. God stripped her of every interior consolation so that her charity would be absolutely pure and devoid of all selfish motivation, resulting in pure selfless giving, fueled by unshakable faith, and driven by divine hope. She was truly a mystic in the deepest sense, an icon of the satiation of Christ’s Thirst.

Prayer: Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta, the Thirst of Christ so permeated your soul that you experienced His longing within the depths of your being. This Thirst drove you to charity, endlessly searching for every way possible to bring satiation to our Lord in the distressing disguise of the poor and suffering. Please pray for me, that I will be freed of every selfish motivation in life so that I can give myself to others, freely and wholeheartedly, as an instrument of the Most Merciful Heart of Jesus. Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta, pray for me. Jesus, I trust in You.

09/04/2026

09/03/2026

SAINT OF THE DAY

September 3: Saint Gregory the Great, Pope and Doctor—Memorial
c. 540–604

Patron Saint of choir boys, educators, masons, musicians, popes, students, and singers
Invoked against gout and the plague
Pre-Congregation canonization

Quote:
No one presumes to teach an art till he has first, with intent meditation, learned it. What rashness is it, then, for the unskilful to assume pastoral authority, since the government of souls is the art of arts!…And yet how often do men who have no knowledge whatever of spiritual precepts fearlessly profess themselves physicians of the heart, though those who are ignorant of the effect of drugs blush to appear as physicians of the flesh! But because, through the ordering of God, all the highest in rank of this present age are inclined to reverence religion, there are some who, through the outward show of rule within the holy Church, affect the glory of distinction. They desire to appear as teachers, they covet superiority to others, and, as the Truth attests, they seek the first salutations in the market-place, the first rooms at feasts, the first seats in assemblies Matthew 23:6–7, being all the less able to administer worthily the office they have undertaken of pastoral care, as they have reached the magisterial position of humility out of elation only. ~Saint Gregory the Great, Pastoral Rule, Book I

Reflection: Saint Gregory the Great was born in the city of Rome into an aristocratic family whose members filled political and religious offices. Gregory’s father was a senator and later became the Prefect of Rome, similar to the role of mayor. His mother, Silvia, was a virtuous woman who was later recognized as a saint, as were two of his aunts. Thus, Gregory’s influential, wealthy, and saintly family provided him with a stellar education and nurtured him in the Catholic faith from a young age.

During the first fourteen years of his life, Gregory witnessed war and disease ravage the city of Rome. The Ostrogoths had ruled Rome since 479, but from 535–554, the Eastern Roman emperor waged war in an attempt to reclaim control. The war caused significant destruction in Rome and resulted in many deaths. Gregory and his family may have even had to flee for a time. Once peace was restored in 554 and Italy came under the control of the Eastern Roman emperor, people began to return to Rome, rebuild the city, and reestablish order.

From 554–574, Gregory followed in his father’s footsteps, assuming various civil leadership roles. Around the year 573, he was elected to the same position his father had held earlier: Prefect of Rome. However, not long after Gregory assumed this role, his father passed away, prompting Gregory to make a major shift in his life. He resigned as Prefect, turned his family home into a monastery, and took monastic vows. That time of deep prayer was invaluable to him and would prepare him for the important tasks God would later entrust to him.

As a monk, Gregory spent the next four years immersed in quiet prayer and study. These years were some of the happiest of his life. In 578, Pope Pelagius II ordained Gregory as one of the seven deacons of Rome and sent him to Constantinople a year later as his apocrisiarius, or papal ambassador. Despite the challenges of his six years there, Deacon Gregory maintained his monastic life of prayer and study while fulfilling his duties at the imperial court. During this time, Deacon Gregory began writing his famous commentary on the Book of Job, which provided teachings on the nature of God, the problem of evil, the Christian understanding of human suffering, and the virtue of patience.

After completing his service in Constantinople, Deacon Gregory returned to Rome, was chosen as the abbot of his monastery, and enjoyed several more years of peaceful monastic life. In 590, Pope Pelagius II died, and the people of Rome chose Gregory as his successor. He accepted this responsibility, albeit reluctantly. He was the first monk to be elected pope.

Over the next fourteen years, despite constant ill health, Pope Gregory I established himself as one of the most consequential popes in history. Among his accomplishments, he implemented significant reforms in the Church’s administration and liturgy. Administratively, he reformed how the Church’s property and finances were managed. He implemented strict guidelines to ensure the responsible use of these resources, put measures in place to prevent abuses such as nepotism, increased transparency, and greatly expanded charitable works, to the point of emptying the papal treasury. He also forged important strategic military and political alliances that strengthened the papacy and ensured the safety and betterment of those under his care. Many civil leaders even turned to him for guidance.

Liturgically, Pope Gregory contributed to the standardization of the Liturgy by offering clear guidelines and rubrics. He established prayers, the flow of the Mass, and the liturgical year, and helped develop liturgical chant, which came to be known as “Gregorian Chant.”

Pope Gregory also demonstrated his missionary spirit. Most notably, he initiated a mission that began the conversion of the Anglo-Saxon peoples in England. It’s said that Pope Gregory once encountered some slave boys in the Roman market. He asked where they were from and was told they were Angles from England. Gregory replied that the boys were angels. Seeing the boys being sold as slaves planted a desire in Gregory’s heart to convert that pagan nation and a resolve to send missionaries to the Angles and Saxons in England. These missions were ultimately very successful through the efforts of Saint Augustine of Canterbury and forty of his brother monks, who were sent from Pope Gregory’s own monastery.

In addition to his commentaries on Scripture, Pope Gregory authored the “Pastoral Rule” (Regula Pastoralis), an influential guide for bishops and other church leaders. It outlined their pastoral responsibilities and the conduct expected in their personal and public lives. His “Dialogues” are a collection of inspiring visions, miracles, and stories of the lives of the saints, including an early biography of St. Benedict. Pope Gregory’s approximately 800 letters offer a valuable insight into the ecclesiastical, social, and political landscape of his time. These letters contain practical theological and pastoral advice that has formed an enduring legacy and significantly influenced Church leadership throughout the centuries.

Enduring legacies cannot be fabricated, purchased, or contrived. They are the result of true leadership and the profound impact one leaves behind. Pope Gregory I is now known as Saint Gregory the Great. He is “great” because he not only had a major influence upon the people of his time, both religiously and politically, but also because his influence and writings solidified the direction that the Church would take after him. His first loves were of Christ and the monastic way of life. God used Gregory’s humble way of life as a foundation upon which He would continue to build His Church.

As we honor this great pope, ponder the importance of making your life a foundation upon which others will grow and flourish. We establish a firm foundation for our spiritual lives and for the lives of others around us only when we make prayer and union with God our primary mission. Saint Gregory did this well, and God used him in glorious ways. May the same be said of each one of us.

Prayer: Saint Gregory the Great, your first desire was to love God, to come to know Him through prayer and study, and to serve Him with all your heart. God took what you gave and transformed it into a solid foundation upon which He would continue to grow His Church. Please pray for me, that my life will always be grounded upon a solid faith so that God can use me in any way He chooses for His glory and the salvation of souls. Saint Gregory the Great, pray for me. Jesus, I trust in You.
Declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Boniface VIII in 1295
Liturgical Color: White

08/30/2026

August 30, 2026, Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time
One License -726717

08/29/2026

SAINT OF THE DAY

August 29: The Passion of Saint John the Baptist, Martyr—Memorial
c. 1 BC–c. 30

Patron Saint of baptism, bird dealers, converts, monastic life, motorways, printers, tailors, lambs, and prisoners
Invoked against epilepsy, convulsions, hailstorms, and spasms
Pre-Congregation canonization

Quote:
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 co**se and buried him; and they went and told Jesus. ~Matthew 14:3–12

Reflection: John, the son of Zechariah and Elizabeth, was born approximately six months before the Savior of the World. He was likely born in the small, rural Jewish town of Ein Karem, located in the hill country about five miles west of Jerusalem. The surrounding land would have been utilized for agriculture and herding, centered around a town hub and water well. Uniquely, John was blessed with the presence of both the Son of God and the Mother of God at his birth. Many Catholic theologians, including the Angelic Doctor of the Church, Saint Thomas Aquinas, believe that while John was conceived in Original Sin, he was sanctified in the womb immediately after the Blessed Virgin Mary greeted his mother Elizabeth, several months prior to John’s birth. “When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb…” (Luke 1:41). This leap in the womb has been interpreted as John’s sanctification by grace before he was born. Jesus would later say of John, “Amen, I say to you, among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist” (Matthew 11:11).

Not much is known about John’s childhood other than what is stated in the Bible, “The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the desert until the day of his manifestation to Israel” (Luke 1:80). Though he would have been raised devoutly in the Jewish faith by his parents in their hometown, John eventually entered the desert, about twenty miles east of his hometown, to live as a hermit, praying, practicing penance, and preparing for his mission.

John’s first mission was to serve as the precursor of the Lord. As the last of the Old Testament prophets and the first of the New Testament prophets, he bridges the gap to Christ. John’s mission was to precede Jesus “in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of fathers toward children and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous, to prepare a people fit for the Lord” (Luke 1:17). Sometime between the years 27–29, John received inspiration from God in the Judean desert and started to gather disciples whom he taught, called to repentance, and baptized with water. John’s preaching was fierce, branding some a “brood of vipers” and demanding evidence of their conversion. He called tax collectors, soldiers, religious leaders, the average townspeople, and even Herod to repent. Many responded.

John’s life reached its earthly climax when he saw Jesus, the Son of God, approaching him in the desert while he was baptizing. John immediately exclaimed, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. He is the one of whom I said, ‘A man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me because he existed before me.’ I did not know him, but the reason why I came baptizing with water was that he might be made known to Israel…Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God” (John 1:29–31; 34). John reluctantly baptized Jesus, after which the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus in a visible form and the Voice of the Father thundered, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). With that, John’s life began to recede into the background, “He must increase; I must decrease” (John 3:30).

Today, the Church commemorates one of the oldest feasts within the Church, the Memorial of the Beheading of Saint John the Baptist. Just as John preceded Jesus in birth, preaching, and baptizing, so too did he precede Jesus in death, dying as a prefiguration of the one who would give His life sacrificially on the Cross.

John’s death resulted from his bold proclamation of the truth. His call to repentance extended to everyone, including Herod Antipas, the tetrarch, ruler of Galilee and Perea. Although it appears that the area where John was preaching (the Jordan Valley) was not directly governed by Herod, Herod nonetheless was well aware of John’s preaching and his condemnation of him. As a result, Herod was able to have John arrested and imprisoned.

John was most likely imprisoned in a fortress constructed by Herod Antipas’ father, Herod the Great, named Machaerus, northwest of the Dead Sea, in modern-day Jordan. Alternatively, he might have been imprisoned in the Herodium, another palace under Herod’s control just south of Jerusalem.

Two of the Gospels narrate the story of John’s death: Matthew 14:1–12 and Mark 6:14–29. John’s criticism of Herod was specific. He condemned Herod’s unlawful marriage to his brother’s wife, Herodias. Though Herod seemed to fear John and his disciples because of John’s popularity and the power of his words, he decided to appease Herodias’ hatred of John for condemning her and Herod. On Herod’s birthday, Herodias’ daughter, traditionally named Salome, performed a dance for Herod and his guests that so pleased him that he promised her anything she asked of him, up to half of his kingdom. Her mother saw her opportunity for revenge and convinced her daughter to ask for the head of John the Baptist on a platter. In his weakness, Herod complied.

After John’s death, the Bible tells us that “His disciples came and took away the co**se and buried him; and they went and told Jesus” (Matthew 14:12). The news caused Jesus to withdraw alone in a boat to a deserted place to pray. Jesus not only grieved with human sorrow over the death of his cousin, but he also came face-to-face with the reality of His own fate. Thus, His time of prayer was a period in which He perfectly renewed His fidelity to the Mission on which He was sent, to give His life for the salvation of souls. Traditionally, it is believed that John’s body was buried in the town of Sebaste, about fifty miles north of Jerusalem. Various traditions have evolved over the centuries about what happened to his head. Some say Herodias buried it in a dung heap to hide it from his followers and it was later discovered, buried in the Mount of Olives, and today is preserved in the Church of San Silvestro in Capite, Rome, Italy. This tradition, among many others, is impossible to confirm.

As we honor this man so highly honored by our Lord, we also honor our Lord Himself. John’s life was given to the mission to which he was called. He never wavered and willingly accepted even death, rather than shy away from God’s will. He introduced the Lamb of God to the world and led the way for Jesus by his preaching, baptism of repentance, and death, which prefigured Jesus’ own death. As you ponder Saint John’s life, reflect especially upon the wholehearted commitment he made to selflessly give himself to the mission he received. Where you see hesitancy in your own life, take inspiration from Saint John the Baptist, praying that you will exemplify his courage and resolve to fulfill the will of God.

Prayer: Saint John the Baptist, you were given a holy mission and sanctified in the womb of your mother in preparation for that mission. You never deviated from your calling and always pointed the way to Christ, the Savior of all. Please pray for me, that I will have the same courage you had and the resolve to fulfill my duties, no matter the cost. Saint John the Baptist, pray for me. Jesus, I trust in You.
Liturgical Color: Red