Memorial of the Passion of Saint John the Baptist
Many will recall Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk. Some who are reading this may have been confirmed by him. A Dayton native (St. Anthony's), “Daniel E.” as he was known by those who loved him and those who didn't, was probably the most intelligent bishop we ever had. His dry sense of humor cut to the quick, and he was known for that even by recent popes. On one occasion, at a gathering of the bishops of Ohio with Benedict XVI in Rome, the Holy Father responded to a sharp comment from Pilarczyk with, “O, I remember you.”
The archbishop expected excellence in all things, especially around liturgy. Once while presiding at a confirmation in the north country (he'd usually stay at St. Helen's overnight afterwards) he was told prior by the pastor that after communion a woman of the parish would be offering an “expressive
meditative movement” (liturgical dance).
Now the archbishop wasn't opposed to such things per se, but like everything else he expected quality effort. Although well meaning, the dancer was halting and awkward. In the midst of it Pilarczyk learned over from the presider's chair and whispered to the pastor sitting next to him, “If she asks for
your head on a plate, she may have it.”
Thankfully she didn't ask.
Saint John Vianney was so opposed to dances held routinely in his town of Ars that he dedicated a small chapel in his parish church to Saint John the Baptist. At its entrance was painted, perhaps somewhat tongue in cheek, a warning: “His head was the price of a dance.”
Pope Francis preached of the drama of that lurid birthday party: “There are four characters: Herod, corrupt and indecisive; Herodias, his sister-in-law, who knew only hate; Salome, the vain ballerina; and the prophet, decapitated and alone in his cell.”
The Holy Father continued, “Hatred is the breath of Satan. Think about it: he does not know how to love and cannot love. Herodius possessed this diabolical spirit. Herod's words to Salome, 'I'll give you anything you desire,' mimics the same words with which Satan tempted Jesus.”
Francis concluded, “the greatest man born of a woman (John) died alone in a cell because of the whim of a vain dancer, the hatred of a diabolical woman, and the corruption of an indecisive king. The Baptist dies a martyr. He decreased to the point of death.”
“He (Christ) must increase and I must decrease” (John 3:30).
John's journey with Christ was literally cut short. Thin skinned autocrats, like Herod Antipas, know that their grip on power is tenuous. The last prophet’s message to us is this: imitate me as I imitate Christ; decrease so Christ increases in you.
Let us pray,
Herald,
Confronting the corrupt powerful, your penitential life was cut short. But you would not waver.
Immerser, pray we call out injustice as you did. May we decrease so Christ may increase, like you his forerunner did.
Blessed be God in his angels and in his saints!
-Timothy J. Cronin