Gospel

“I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a platter.”
From the Gospel according to  Mark 6:17-23

 For Herod himself had given orders to have John arrested, and he had him bound and put in prison. He did this because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, whom he had married.  For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” So Herodias nursed a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she was not able to, because Herod feared John and protected him, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man. When Herod heard John, he was greatly puzzled; yet he liked to listen to him.
 Finally the opportune time came. On his birthday Herod gave a banquet for his high officials and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. When the daughter of Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests.
The king said to the girl, “Ask me for anything you want, and I’ll give it to you.”  And he promised her with an oath, “Whatever you ask I will give you, up to half my kingdom. She went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?”
“The head of John the Baptist,” she answered.
At once the girl hurried in to the king with the request: “I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a platter.”
 The king was greatly distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her. So he immediately sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s head. The man went, beheaded John in the prison, and brought back his head on a platter. He presented it to the girl, and she gave it to her mother. On hearing of this, John’s disciples came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.

The Gospel of the Lord

Self-centered

There are paths that lead to life and others to death. The first step is to embrace life, which is what God communicates to us through the Word and the Sacraments (especially the Eucharist). Ultimately, the path of life is Christ, and as long as we remain in Him, we will have life within us. 
John the Baptist chose the path of life, which led him to give his life and to attain Life with a capital “L.” 
Herod and Herodias chose the path of death, which is to replace living in Christ and His Word with living self- centered (closed within themselves), and they sowed death because only the Lord generates life. 
Whoever listens to the Word of God and obeys it will have life and have it abundantly, and the Word says that marriage is indissoluble.

Applied to Married Life:

Antony: Honey, do you think we are on a path of life or death? 
Helena: We have chosen a path of life because we have sincerely said yes to the Lord and try to remain united to Him. But it’s true that sometimes we take a shortcut, and when that happens, we experience the consequences of death and sow death. 
Antony: Yes, like yesterday, right? When I made that decision without asking you and didn’t want to apologize for it. 
Helena: Exactly. It hurt me that you didn’t include me, I took it as disrespect, I demanded that you apologize, you made excuses, and the chain of death continued with me judging you and demanding that you appreciate me, and so on. 
Antony: It’s clear that these shortcut must be stopped from the beginning with the barrier of humility. 
Helena: That’s what the Word tells us. Otherwise, death could continue to advance and destroy our marriage and family. 
Antonio: God forbid.

Mother,

We love the Lord and want to remain in Him, the source of Life. Praise be to Him forever.