Did you know?
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Today August 29th is:
St. John the Baptist, Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist was beheaded by King Herod because he had
denounced Herod’s marriage to Herodias, the wife of his half-brother
Philip (Luke 3:19,20), an illegal union according to Jewish law.
Herodias’ daughter by a former marriage, by legend called Salome,
pleased Herod so much with her dancing that he swore to give her
whatever she wanted. At her mother’s urging she asked for the head of
John the Baptist on a platter (Matthew 14:3–12). Herod, grief-stricken
over having let himself be maneuvered into killing a good and innocent
man, later had the head concealed within the palace walls to spare it
any further indignities. It remained there until after the discovery of
the holy cross by St. Helena, an event which drew many pilgrims to
Jerusalem. Two of them found the head after St. John appeared to them
in a vision.
The Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist—also known as the Feast of the Beheading
in the Eastern Orthodox Church—has been celebrated by Christians since
the fourth century. The observance started at Sebaste (Samaria), where
the Baptist was believed to have been buried. From Holidays, Festivals, and Celebrations of the World Dictionary |
Quotation of the Day
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Freedom of Speech
Thomas Jefferson "To preserve the freedom of the human mind … and freedom of the press, every spirit should be ready to devote itself to martyrdom;
for as long as we may think as we will, and speak as we think the
condition of man will proceed in improvement. The generation which is
going off the stage has deserved well of mankind for the struggles it
has made, and for having arrested the course of despotism which had
overwhelmed the world for thousands and thousands of years. If there
seems to be danger that the ground they have gained will be lost again,
that danger comes from the generation your contemporary. But that the
enthusiasm which characterizes youth should lift its parricide hands
against freedom and science would be such a monstrous phenomenon as I
cannot place among possible things in this age and country." from Respectfully Quoted
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