Friday, February 07, 2020 — Fourth week of Ordinary time — Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 6, 14-29 — Blessed are those who have heard the word in a good and generous heart, who hold on to it and bear fruit by their perseverance.

The account of the death of John the Baptist enlighten us on how the prophets were rejected and Christians will encounter resistance in their witness of faith. Being apostles, like being Christians, is never easy: it is a way of life that requires intransigence and perseverance. It is this way of life that determines what we are in the eyes of God and through which we journey towards the Kingdom of God, announced by Christ.

Nowadays, our epoch needs witnesses like John the Baptist: dare to proclaim and live the truth, refuse to compromise and complicity with evil even at the cost of life.

May the grace of our Christianity not be a mere appearance to us but a lived experience so that we may be true "salt and light".