The brake pedal felt abnormal. I continued using the car and postponed having my brakes checked.

One Sunday morning, I backed the car out of our garage. When I stepped on the brakes, the pedal sunk to the floor. It took a few seconds before the car stopped. Fear gripped me, yet I still went on my way. I planned to have the brakes checked  after Mass but as I approached the church, I took a turn and went straight to a gas station service center a kilometer away. My heart was racing. I begged God and my guardian angel to protect me and those around me, and bring me to safety.

The brake master had to be replaced. Good thing the mechanic made it before closing time to buy the parts, and I had enough cash on hand to cover the cost of the repair.

My Carmelite friend later texted that she was inspired to offer her 7 a.m. Mass that day for me. Truly, God has placed His safety seal on me even before I asked. Judith Concepcion (svp_jmc@yahoo.com)

reflect

Is there something you need to do that you keep postponing? Do it now—before it’s too late.

Disturb me, Lord, if I continue to remain stubborn and ignore Your warnings. Help me to take immediate action when the situation asks for it.

Saint Blaise, bishop and martyr, pray for us.

 First Reading | Hebrews 13:1-8

We can aspire for a better, more comfortable, and more wealthy way of life. However, we should always be wary of the pursuit of money as it tends to control those who acquire it. Let us always be grateful for what we have. Then let us think of ways to improve our lives and put them into action while ensuring that we are in control of our desires and not the other way around.

¹ Let brotherly love continue. ² Do not neglect hospitality, for through it some have unknowingly entertained angels. ³ Be mindful of prisoners as if sharing their imprisonment, and of the ill-treated as of yourselves, for you also are in the body. ⁴ Let marriage be honored among all and the marriage bed be kept undefiled, for God will judge the immoral and adulterers. ⁵ Let your life be free from love of money but be content with what you have, for he has said, I will never forsake you or abandon you. ⁶ Thus we may say with confidence: The Lord is my helper, and I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me? ⁷ Remember your leaders who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. ⁸ Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Responsorial Psalm | Psalm 27:1, 3, 5, 8-9

R: The Lord is my light and my salvation.

¹ The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom should I fear? The Lord is my life’s refuge; of whom should I be afraid? (R) ³ Though an army encamp against me, my heart will not fear; though war be waged upon me, even then will I trust. (R) ⁵ For he will hide me in his abode in the day of trouble; he will conceal me in the shelter of his tent; he will set me high upon a rock. (R) ⁸ Your presence, O Lord, I seek. ⁹ Hide not your face from me; do not in anger repel your servant. You are my helper: cast me not off. (R)

Gospel | Mark 6:14-29

Herod is a morally corrupt person. He is interested only in maintaining power and his own pleasure. John the Baptist is completely the opposite: he is interested in holiness and the truth. He challenges Herod’s marital status because it is morally compromised and sets a bad example for everyone. Unfortunately, John is beheaded for his commitment to the truth. Like John the Baptist, let us be courageous to stand for the truth no matter what the consequences.

Gospel Acclamation

Blessed are they who have kept the word with a generous heart and yield a harvest through perseverance.

¹⁴ King Herod heard about Jesus, for his fame had become widespread, and people were saying, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead; that is why mighty powers are at work in him.” ¹⁵ Others were saying, “He is Elijah;” still others, “He is a prophet like any of the prophets.” ¹⁶ But when Herod learned of it, he said, “It is John whom I beheaded. He has been raised up.” ¹⁷ Herod was the one who had John arrested and bound in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, whom he had married. ¹⁸ John had said to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” ¹⁹ Herodias harbored a grudge against him and wanted to kill him but was unable to do so. ²⁰ Herod feared John, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man, and kept him in custody. When he heard him speak he was very much perplexed, yet he liked to listen to him. ²¹ Herodias had an opportunity one day when Herod, on his birthday, gave a banquet for his courtiers, his military officers, and the leading men of Galilee. ²² His own daughter came in and performed a dance that delighted Herod and his guests. The king said to the girl, “Ask of me whatever you wish and I will grant it to you.” ²³ He even swore many things to her, “I will grant you whatever you ask of me, even to half of my kingdom.” ²⁴ She went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?” Her mother replied, “The head of John the Baptist.” ²⁵ The girl hurried back to the king’s presence and made her request, “I want you to give me at once on a platter the head of John the Baptist.” ²⁶ The king was deeply distressed, but because of his oaths and the guests he did not wish to break his word to her. ²⁷ So he promptly dispatched an executioner with orders to bring back his head. He went off and beheaded him in the prison. ²⁸ He brought in the head on a platter and gave it to the girl. The girl in turn gave it to her mother. ²⁹ When his disciples heard about it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.

Read the Bible in one year! Read ROMANS 9 - 12 today.

In the recent iteration of The Karate Kid franchise titled Cobra Kai, Daniel Larusso, who is now managing his own dojo, cautioned his students to always put their angst, anger, and rage in check. Like in the original movie, the climax of the story is a karate tournament where more than a trophy and a title is at stake.

Facing opponents taught by a sensei (karate instructor) who indoctrinates winning at all costs, even to the extent of cheating and fatally harming a fellow competitor, Daniel invokes the undying wisdom of his departed sensei, Miyagi: “When you put passion before principle, even if you win, you lose.”

We see the wisdom behind this principle in full display in today’s Gospel.

It was Herod’s birthday and he sponsored a banquet with all of his officers and friends in attendance. Herodias’s daughter performed a dance that delighted Herod and his courtiers. In his drunken frenzy, Herod declared that he would give anything the girl would ask for, “even half of his kingdom.” The girl consulted her mother Herodias. As an act of vengeance (John the Baptist criticized her immoral status for living with Herod, even as she is the wife of Philip, Herod’s brother), she commanded her daughter to ask for the head of John the Baptist.

Herod resented the request for he respected John the Baptist as man of God. But everybody heard his boast and he could no longer take back his impulsive promise, and so he had John the Baptist beheaded. John the Baptist was the one beheaded, but it was Herod who actually lost his head.

It is a universal principle in the discernment of spirits: Never make a life-changing decision when you are at the height of delight or at the depth of depression. Because either way, it will surely be an imprudent decision with deleterious repercussions. The Spirit of God is usually discerned in a climate of silence, serenity, and sobriety.

When you are ruled by an unruly spirit, passion (i.e., passion out of control) takes a hold on you. When it is the Spirit of God that rules over you, principle (i.e., regulated passion) holds the rein of your life and your choices. Fr. Joel O. Jason

reflection question

What dominates your process of discernment—passion or principle?

Spirit of God, be with me, always at work in me. Amen.

Today, I pray for: ______________________________________