The feast days of most canonized saints are on the days of their deaths. Consequently, martyrs' feast days are usually the days of their martyrdom. Yet we have no other feast named like today's feast, "the Beheading of John the Baptizer." We don't have feasts called "The Burning of Lawrence," "The Torture of Vincent," "The Beating of Sebastian," or "The Beheading of Thomas More." Yet the Church names today's feast, "The Beheading of John the Baptizer."

This may be because beheading is one of the devil's major strategies against God's people. The battle is for our minds, and the devil is trying to behead us spiritually by conforming our minds to this age (Rm 12:2). Furthermore, husbands are the heads of their wives (1 Cor 11:3), parents heads of their children, pastors heads of their churches, and leaders heads of their ministries. The devil tries to spiritually behead wives, children, churches, and ministries by keeping husbands spiritually immature, encouraging parents to be spiritually irresponsible, leading pastors into sin, and making leaders worldly wise, but spiritual fools.

Heads are rolling! Be on guard. Repent. Obey the Lord.

Rescript:  †Reverend Joseph R. Binzer, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, February 25, 2008

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