29th August - The John we are talking about here is the forerunner of Jesus and who baptised him. He is the son of Zechariah and Elisabeth and his life was recorded here in June. Moved by the Spirit of God, John takes refuge in the desert to preserve the grace he has received. He lives there until he is thirty years old, practising prayer and contemplation. Then he begins his public life by preaching conversion and baptism, hence his name Baptist.

The character of John the Baptist intervenes by criticising the infidelity of King Herod Antipas who, repudiating his own, took his brother's wife. This woman, Herodias, irritated by John's words, sought revenge. John was arrested and put in prison, but this did not appease Herodias' resentment. One day, during a party at the palace, Herod was so charmed by the dance of Salome, Herodias daughter, that he promised the girl that he would grant her anything she asked for. Salome went to consult her mother who advised her to ask for the head of John the Baptist.