"To be Devout, Just and Blameless"

Today's Mass Readings

Today the Church keeps the memory of the martyrdom of John the Baptist. Known for his asceticism and his mystical spirituality, John’s martyrdom showcases two realities. The first was his own integrity. He stood by the truth. However, the immediate cause of his death was also the whim of a woman who was callous about human life. She merely made John a pawn in her game. Moreover, she did not hesitate to implicate her daughter in her own guilt, by making her demand the life of John. Both of these are realities of our times as well. That is why, the feast of John the Baptist is relevant two thousand years after his death. The first reading from the letter of St. Paul to the Thessalonians gives us a peek into the lives of the early believers of Christ. The one thing that characterized their lives was their integrity. This is obvious in today’s reading where Paul says, You are witnesses, and so is God,
how devoutly and justly and blamelessly
we behaved toward you believers.” A devout, just, and blameless life is just what every person of integrity aims for. Devout means a right relationship with God, just means a right relationship with others, and blameless means a right relationship with one self.

On the contrary, Herodias lacked integrity. She was godless (opposite of devout), unjust (opposite of just), and guilty (opposite of blameless). She could not even treat human life with the sanctity it deserves. Please take the time to read today’s Psalm which is only part of the larger Psalm 139. In this Psalm, one discovers the real value of human life since God himself puts one’s life together.

It is not just abortion that devalues human life. Pornography, extreme misery, starvation, racism, casteism, and other human evils are equally degrading to the sanctity that God has gifted human life with. To be a person of integrity is to value God, to value human life, and to bow before God at the wonder of our own being (Ps 139:14). St. John and St. Paul are models of integrity for us. Let us follow their example.

Psalm 139

O LORD, you have probed me, you know me:

you know when I sit and stand; you understand my thoughts from afar.

My travels and my rest you mark; with all my ways you are familiar.

Even before a word is on my tongue, LORD, you know it all.

Behind and before you encircle me and rest your hand upon me.

Such knowledge is beyond me, far too lofty for me to reach.

Where can I hide from your spirit? From your presence, where can I flee?

If I ascend to the heavens, you are there; if I lie down in Sheol, you are there too.

If I fly with the wings of dawn and alight beyond the sea,

Even there your hand will guide me, your right hand hold me fast.

If I say, "Surely darkness shall hide me, and night shall be my light" --

Darkness is not dark for you, and night shines as the day. Darkness and light are but one.

You formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother's womb.

I praise you, so wonderfully you made me; wonderful are your works! My very self you knew;

My bones were not hidden from you, When I was being made in secret, fashioned as in the depths of the earth.

Your eyes foresaw my actions; in your book all are written down; my days were shaped, before one came to be.

How precious to me are your designs, O God; how vast the sum of them!

Were I to count, they would outnumber the sands; to finish, I would need eternity.

If only you would destroy the wicked, O God, and the bloodthirsty would depart from me!

Deceitfully they invoke your name; your foes swear faithless oaths.

Do I not hate, LORD, those who hate you? Those who rise against you, do I not loathe?

With fierce hatred I hate them, enemies I count as my own.

Probe me, God, know my heart; try me, know my concerns.

See if my way is crooked, then lead me in the ancient paths.