Aug 29 – Beheading of St. John the Baptist
To endure temporal agonies for the sake of the truth was not a heavy burden for such men as John; rather it was easily borne and even desirable, for he knew eternal joy would be his reward. Since death was ever at hand, such men considered it a blessing to embrace it and thus gain the reward of eternal life by acknowledging Christ’s name. Hence the apostle Paul rightly says: “You have been granted the privilege not only to believe in Christ but also to suffer for his sake.” He tells us why it is Christ’s gift that His chosen ones should suffer for Him: “The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed in us.”
– from a homily by Saint Bede the Venerable on the death of John the Baptist
1 Cor 1:26-31
Mk 6:17-29
…those whom the world thinks common and contemptible are the ones that God has chosen…
In this world, of “Me, myself and I”, the phrase that I have chosen for this reflection seems strangely out of place. We have been fed a diet of how the strongest, the loudest and the most aggressive individual wins and gets the best things. But then again, is this what we want? Jesus also mentioned, “What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?”
Our faith constantly reminds us to be humble, and that it is not the richest or the wisest that gains heaven’s rewards. Take Jesus’ apostles for an example. They were a ragtag bunch of individuals, with fishermen, a tax collector, a revolutionary, a doubter and a turncoat amongst the midst of them. However low their station may be, according to society’s standards, they were given the honour and the privilege to live and be in close proximity with our Lord. How wonderful that must been, to be able to witness the miracles, to reflect on His teachings and just observe how our Lord lived — in both good and bad times.
We are also guided to look to our Lady, Mother Mary. She is the perfect example of humility and how to fully trust in God. She always looks to God to show the way, especially when things don’t turn out the way that she expects. Just imagine, receiving the message from the Angel Gabriel that she would bear a son, and that he would be great and will be called the Son of God, at 14 years old! She must have wondered, “Why is this happening to me? I am not a princess or a ‘high born’ person.” Plus, she would also have known that she would run the risk of being stoned to death and being ostracized for the rest of her life. Yet, she still said ‘YES’ and consented to be God’s instrument; but most of all, she remained humble and trusted in God. Are we able to do the same?
When our Lady appeared in Guadalupe, Lourdes and Fatima, she didn’t appear to bishops, priests or royalty. The visionaries that she appeared to all had the same thing in common, they all came from impoverished backgrounds, and some of them were even uneducated. Why did our Lady appear to them? Wouldn’t it be easier for her message to “turn away from sin and to direct us back to Jesus, our Saviour” be more easily spread if she appeared to the rich and influential? Yet, in spite of her messages being delivered to ‘common and contemptible’ individuals, her messages spread throughout the world and these three locations eventually became some of the most popular pilgrimage sites. What’s most important, I also feel, is that none of her messages pointed to Our Lady’s own status, that she is always stressing that she is our intercessor, pointing humanity from sin and directing us to Jesus. Her humility is always something that I aspire to follow, and I constantly pray for her intercession to help me off my high horse and to be a better disciple.
Jesus is the ultimate destination, but I know the more things we have, the more obstacles we will face. My pride is often the biggest obstacle as I often justify why I am doing a certain thing, e.g. spending more time watching ‘Game of Thrones’, rather than spending time in prayer. I always set out to pray more, but I always get distracted; and so, those intentions often just stay as intentions. Then I justify those actions. I know by acting such, I am only comforting myself and I know I should stop.
I think back and remember those times when things weren’t looking good, I remember that I was constantly in prayer to pray for a resolution, going to Novenas to petition our Lady to help me. Looking back to those times now, I really felt a connection with the Lord. But once things come to a good resolution, I simply go back to my old lifestyle again. Yes, I need to do better.
I also believe that God constantly reaches out to us, regardless of our station in life. He is always speaking to us, offering us comfort and when life is good, God’s voice is drowned out in our comforts. Let us pray therefore, that we will always keep a space for the Lord in our lives and not only go to Him when we need something. Let us also pray to our Lady to intercede for us to be more like her, to be humble and to trust in the Lord always.
(Today’s OXYGEN by Calvin Wee)
Prayer: Heavenly Father, You are always reaching out to us and wanting us to always remain with you. Grant that we will always keep you in the centre and for us to remain humble, so that we can better discern your will and be your instrument. Amen.
Thanksgiving: Heavenly Father, thank you for our Mother Mary. She is always looking out for us and loving us even when we are not always lovable. Mama Mary, please continue to pray for us to be better disciples of the Lord and that we may always be humble, now and at the moment of our death. Amen.
OXYGEN 
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