KING HEROD

Herod rejected the warnings of John the Baptist, and so abused a special grace from God.  Am I sometimes guilty of abusing precious graces?  We sometimes think of Herod as totally depraved, yet it appears this man had inspiration for better things.  He had flouted the law in his attempted marriage, and John appeared on the scene and told him so.  Herod was shaken by John's warning, and we know he had great respect for the Baptist.  In King Herod, there was a daily struggle between grace and sin.  But, sadly, passion won the day and he ended by ordering the beheading of John. 

Herod is a sad example of a man sinking to the depths of hell, having abused his gift of grace.
All of us receive special graces, and no grace of God stands alone; each grace is a link in a chain.  If I correspond with one special grace I receive another, and make daily progress in the way that leads to God.  But if I break the chain of grace, I end up in spiritual stagnation, in sin.  So, let us all be open to God's grace and be inspired to live our vocations to the full.  Let us pray for those who have lost their way.  May our example and our intercession help them turn to their God.

Jesus was silent before Herod.  He may become silent before me if I reject his grace and inspirations.  When the Lord appeared before Herod, the Gospel tells us the latter was glad to see Jesus because he hoped to see some sign wrought by him.  Herod didn't hope for any spiritual benefit, he just hoped to satisfy vain curiosity.  He asked Jesus many questions, but the Lord did not answer him.  Why did Jesus refuse to speak to Herod?  After all, he spoke to Pilate, he spoke to Caiphas, he even pleaded with Judas.

The answer is because the conscience of Herod was dead. He had been deaf to the voice of God speaking through John the Baptist.  He had rejected too many inspirations of grace.  It is truly terrifying to think of the silence of Jesus before a hardened soul.  Pray we never get like that!  Do you know people who have completely hardened their hearts towards God?

There are some souls called to perfection with whom Jesus also becomes silent.  Time and again, Jesus has spoken to these people, he has showered his graces upon them, urging them to make the sacrifice, to break with some human attachment, to rid themselves of some persistent fault, to turn from sin.  But they persist in turning a deaf ear to his voice, and so the Lord's voice becomes less and less audible.  Eventually, there is silence.  They have proved themselves unworthy of God's grace and inspiration.  They need our prayers.

Please God, never let me live in silence.  Speak to me daily.  Lord, let me be filled once again with a spirit of generosity, with your grace.  Speak to me loudly and clearly.  Please deliver me from selfishness and a neglect of your inspiring graces.

May Mary, our Mother of Perpetual Help, intercede for us.  Amen.