MEMORIAL OF THE PASSION OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST AND SAINT SABINA OF ROME, MARTYR ~ FEAST DAY: AUGUST 29TH: Today, we celebrate the Memorial of the Passion of Saint John the Baptist and Saint Sabina of Rome, Martyr. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and Saints John the Baptist and Sabina on this feast day, we humbly pray for persecuted Christians, for those who fight for truth, peace and justice, for the sick and dying, especially those who are suffering from cancers and other terminal diseases. We pray for the repose of the souls of the faithful departed and we pray for those who mourn. We also pray for the poor and needy and for peace, love, and unity in our marriages, our families and our world. And we continue to pray for our Holy Father, the Bishops, the Clergy, for vocations to the priesthood and religious life, for the Church, for persecuted Christians, for the conversion of sinners, and Christians all over the world.🙏
THE PASSION OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST: On this day, the universal Church marks the beheading of John the Baptist, who prepared the way for Jesus. The Church, having celebrated the earthly birthday of St. John the Baptist on June 24, today honors the anniversary of his martyrdom. Besides our Lord and our Lady, St. John the Baptist is the only one whose birth and death are thus celebrated. St. John the Baptist was the son of Zachary and Elizabeth and cousin of Jesus and his mission was to preach repentance to Israel in preparation for the coming of the Messiah. St. John began his ministry around age 27, preaching a message of repentance to the people of Jerusalem. St. John, faithful to the inspiration of Divine grace, spent most of his life in the wilderness, and became the model of the many anchorites who later served God in the same manner. When thirty years old, he appeared before the world on the banks of the Jordan, after the Spirit inspired him, he went about preaching that the people should repent of their sins and be baptized in order to prepare for the Messiah. He was a preacher of penance, the precursor of Jesus Christ and “the voice of one crying in the wilderness.” St. John converted many and prepared the way for the coming of Jesus. He had the honor of Baptizing his Divine Master, our Lord Jesus Christ and pointing Him out as the Lamb of God. After which he stepped away and told his disciples to follow Jesus.
The occasion for the Saint’s martyrdom soon presented itself. Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great, the slayer of the Innocents, was then ruler, or tetrarch, of Galilee. He is the same one whom our Lord called a “fox”, and by whom the Savior was sent to Pilate. On a visit to Rome he had made the acquaintance of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, and he took her as his wife. His own spouse, the daughter of Aretas, an Arabian King, fled to her father, and a war in which the army of Herod was defeated resulted. St. John boldly denounced this adulterous and incestuous marriage. St. John the Baptist had the courage to blame Herod to his face for the scandal of his illegal union with his sister-in-law Herodias, whose husband was still alive. When John rebuked King Herod for his unlawful union with Herodias, his brother’s wife, Herodias contrived to make Herod imprison him. But Herodias wanted greater revenge: nothing but the head of her enemy, John the Baptist, could satisfy her. Herodias took advantage of an unexpected opportunity to obtain through her daughter Salome the beheading of the saint. On his birthday, Herod celebrated with a great feast as Salome, the daughter of Herodias, pleased him exceedingly by a graceful dance before his guests. Herod, pleased with Salome’s performance, promised to give her whatever she asked for, even up to half his kingdom. On the advice of her wicked mother, Salome asked for the head of John the Baptist on a platter. Herod was grieved by this request, for he esteemed John the Baptist; yet he had the weakness to yield and to abide by his impious oath. Herod regretfully ordered the execution. An officer was dispatched to the prison, and St. John was beheaded to satisfy the revenge of a voluptuous woman. The death of St. John occurred about a year before of our Lord. St. John died in 30 AD.
According to the Roman Martyrology, this day marks “the second finding of his most venerable head.” The body of the saint was buried in Samaria. In the year 362 pagans desecrated the grave and burned his remains. Only a small portion of his relics were able to be saved by monks and sent to St. Athanasius at Alexandria. The head of the saint is venerated at various places. That in the Church of St. Sylvester in Rome belongs to a martyr-priest John. Also in the Dominican church at Breslau the Baptist’s head is honored. St. John the Baptist is the last and greatest of the Old Testament prophets, highly venerated by the Church. St. John the Baptist is the Patron Saint of Farriers, convulsions, epilepsy, hailstorms, baptism, converts, lambs, Jordan. The feast of his martyrdom is August 29th.
PRAYER: God, You chose St. John the Baptist to be the forerunner of Your Son Who was born and died for us. Grant that, as St. John was martyred for truth and justice, so we may energetically profess our faith in You. Amen 🙏
SAINT SABINA OF ROME, MARTYR: St. Sabina (d. 126 A.D.) was a wealthy Roman noblewoman, a widow and the daughter of Herod Metallarius. She was born in Vindena, Umbria, and became the wife of a notable person having the name Valentine. St. Sabina was converted to Christianity by her virtuous female slave, St. Serapia, a devout Christian virgin from Antioch who entered into voluntary slavery with Sabina after forsaking marriage and consecrating herself to Christ. Following her conversion, St. Sabina’s home became a secret meeting place for Christians where the sacraments were celebrated. St. Serapia was discovered to be a Christian and was burned alive and beheaded. When Serapia died a martyr’s death (her feast occurs on September 3), St. Sabina gave her servant’s holy body an honorable burial. St. Sabina recovered Serapia’s body and buried it in a tomb.
On that account St. Sabina was cast into prison by Emperor Hadrian and brought before the judge Elpidius. “Are you Sabina, illustrious by family and marriage?” he asked. “Yes, I am,” came the reply, “but I thank my Savior Jesus Christ that through His servant Serapia He has freed me from the power of hell.” Due to her contempt of the gods, she was condemned to death. Within the same year St. Sabina was also martyred for her faith and Christians buried her body in the same grave along side her teacher in the faith, St. Serapia. After Christianity was legalized in the 5th century, a basilica was built over St. Sabina’s home on Aventine Hill. Originally dedicated to both saints, it is known today as Santa Sabina, one of Rome’s most ancient churches. St. Sabina’s feast day is August 29th.
Saint Sabina of Rome, Martyr ~ Pray for us 🙏