Today’s celebration commemorates the death of John the Baptist, the forerunner and cousin of Jesus. In the history of the world, great men are sometimes killed because they stand up for what is right. So it is the day that John the Baptist is killed. For a great prophet like St John the Baptist, who has such a good life and ministry, his death seems so humiliating. But today we the church honour him for his courage and faithfulness to God. Even for us, in all the dramas of life, the pleasures and the things that thrill us, what counts will be our faithfulness to God. It mattered to St. John the Baptist. It also mattered to God. It should matter to us too.