You cannot intimidate someone for whom death is a positive option!

As we celebrate the Memorial of the Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist, let us recall that for us as Christians, death is a positive option; particularly death by martyrdom for Jesus Christ. We are meant to understand martyrdom, even if it were to be accompanied by torture, as a mark of preferential love for us from God our Father, the  chance to live out the meaning of our stjohn the baptistBaptism to the full. Thus, if we should ever find ourselves about to be martyred, our reaction ought not be “Oh no! Why me!”, but rather “Yes!” with rejoicing to realize that God loves us so much as to invite us to give our life for Christ and receive a greater share of His glory in heaven. To prepare ourselves to correspond with God’s grace, let us pray for greater fortitude, the virtue by which we confront the greatest obstacles and endure the greatest sufferings on behalf of the faith, the virtue with which St. John the Baptist was filled. May it enable us to stand strong in the face of death, believing like St. Paul “that the sufferings of this present life are not worth comparing to the glory to be revealed in us” (Rom 8:18).

About Fr. Ricardo Pineda

Fr. Ricardo was born on August 4, 1987, into a Catholic family of both Salvadoran and Mexican descent. He is a native of San Diego, California. Following high school, he attended the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana. While in studies at Notre Dame, he played trumpet in the marching Band of the Fighting Irish. In May of 2008, he graduated from Notre Dame with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy and a minor in Theology.