It can be tempting to think that St. John the Baptist’s gruesome death has nothing to teach us.
If we aren’t being actively persecuted, his martyrdom can appear mythical and something that doesn’t concern our daily lives.
Yet, we can all learn from St. John the Baptist’s life and death, even if we live in a corner of the world where political leaders are friendly to our practice of the faith.
Daily martyrdom
Pope Benedict XVI reflected on the death of St. John the Baptist in a general audience in 2012 and explained that he did not buckle under pressure or compromise his beliefs:
In the 9th century the Venerable Bede says in one of his Homilies: “St John gave his life for [Christ]. He was not ordered to deny Jesus Christ, but was ordered to keep silent about the truth” (cf. Homily 23: CCL 122, 354). And he did not keep silent about the truth and thus died for Christ who is the Truth. Precisely for love of the truth he did not stoop to compromises and did not fear to address strong words to anyone who had strayed from God’s path.
While we may not be challenged by local authorities to denounce our faith, we are all challenged to stay faithful to God in an increasingly secular culture.
Our faithfulness to God requires a “martyrdom,” where we die to ourselves and our selfish impulses:
Dear brothers and sisters, celebrating the martyrdom of St. John the Baptist reminds us too, Christians of this time, that with love for Christ, for his words and for the Truth, we cannot stoop to compromises. The Truth is Truth; there are no compromises. Christian life demands, so to speak, the “martyrdom” of daily fidelity to the Gospel, the courage, that is, to let Christ grow within us and let him be the One who guides our thought and our actions.
According to Pope Benedict XVI, one of the only ways to guarantee faithfulness to God is through a personal relationship with him:
However, this can happen in our life only if we have a solid relationship with God. Prayer is not time wasted, it does not take away time from our activities, even apostolic activities, but exactly the opposite is true: only if we are able to have a faithful, constant and trusting life of prayer will God himself give us the ability and strength to live happily and serenely, to surmount difficulties and to witness courageously to him.
We are all called to be daily “martyrs,” and can look to St. John the Baptist for inspiration, asking for his heavenly guidance in remaining steadfast to the Truth, Jesus Christ.
And today we celebrate...