“Decapitation is not something new to the Church, ‘defenestration‘ of Conservative Cardinals on the other hand is something new to the Church!” (Abyssum)
——
Martyrdom of John the Baptist
In addition to the feast of the nativity of St. John the Baptist (June 24), the Church, since the fourth century, commemorates the martyrdom of Christ’s precursor. According to the Roman Martyrology, this day marks “the second finding of his most venerable head.” The body of the saint was buried in Samaria. In the year 362 pagans desecrated the grave and burned his remains. Only a small portion of his relics were able to be saved by monks and sent to St. Athanasius at Alexandria. The head of the saint is venerated at various places. That in the Church of St. Sylvester in Rome belongs to a martyr-priest John. Also in the Dominican church at Breslau the Baptist’s head is honored.
Excerpted from The Church’s Year of Grace, Pius Parsch:
There is no doubt that blessed John suffered imprisonment and chains as a witness to our Redeemer, whose forerunner he was, and gave his life for him. His persecutor had demanded not that he should deny Christ, but only that he should keep silent about the truth. Nevertheless, he died for Christ. Does Christ not say: “I am the truth”? Therefore, because John shed his blood for the truth, he surely died for Christ.
Through his birth, preaching and baptizing, he bore witness to the coming birth, preaching and baptism of Christ, and by his own suffering he showed that Christ also would suffer.
Such was the quality and strength of the man who accepted the end of this present life by shedding his blood after the long imprisonment. He preached the freedom of heavenly peace, yet was thrown into irons by ungodly men. He was locked away in the darkness of prison, though he came bearing witness to the Light of life and deserved to be called a bright and shining lamp by that Light itself, which is Christ.
To endure temporal agonies for the sake of the truth was not a heavy burden for such men as John; rather it was easily borne and even desirable, for he knew eternal joy would be his reward.
Since death was ever near at hand, such men considered it a blessing to embrace it and thus gain the reward of eternal life by acknowledging Christ’s name. Hence the apostle Paul rightly says: “You have been granted the privilege not only to believe in Christ but also to suffer for his sake.” He tells us why it is Christ’s gift that his chosen ones should suffer for him: “The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed in us.”
– Saint Bede the Venerable
COLLECT PRAYER
O God, who willed that Saint John the Baptist should go ahead of your Son both in his birth and in his death, grant that, as he died a Martyr for truth and justice, we, too, may fight hard for the confession of what you teach. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
(Source)
Catholicism Pure & Simple 
St John the Baptist was the first of many martyrs to be beheaded for upholding the permanence of the sacrament of marriage. That’s how highly he valued it, deeming it worthy of sacrificing his very life to defend! Down through the ages numerous other saints and martyrs (notably, Sts Thomas More and John Fisher) have chosen death rather than settle for a compromise on marriage, this sacred bond before God with the Church’s blessing between one man and one woman.
And what do we have today?
Few loyal, courageous bishops and cardinals, not even the current pope, standing up for Holy Christian Matrimony in these times of a vicious organised assault on marriage and the family! The ones who do (i.e., the cuatro cardinale of the dubia and all orthodox Catholics, both among the clergy and laity) are suffering a real white martyrdom in consequence.
Which one day could turn RED !
Fatima visionary, Sister Lucia confided to Card. Carlo Carrara: “The decisive battle between God and the kingdom of Satan will be over marriage and the family”.
Sr Lucia saw Our Lady. This revelation was given to her from the Blessed Mother of God. We cannot ignore this warning. Our Lady is trying to prevent the destruction of Mankind.
For if “marriage and family” (the domestic church) become the reign of Satan, the whole Church will fall.*
* A remnant will always remain of course: “the gates of Hell, etc….” But the loss of so many souls to Satan is unimaginably tragic, and something we must do everything in our power to prevent.
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“Our Lady is trying to prevent the destruction of Mankind.”
Surely mankind will only be destroyed if God wills it so?
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Toad you do not know the Faith.
Man created cannot be destroyed But it is his choice of where he spends Eternity
Heaven (Only through Christ) which is Life and Light
Hell eternal Death and Darkness
Our Lord fortold the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple. The Church is Israel
As for children of Abraham?
Matthew 3
[9] “And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham for our father. For I tell you that God is able of these stones to raise up children to Abraham.”
2 John 1
[9] “Whosoever revolteth, and continueth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that continueth in the doctrine, the same hath both the Father and the Son.”
He also fortold the general Apostacy we are now seeing
2 Timothy 4
[3] “For there shall be a time, when they will not endure sound doctrine; but, according to their own desires, they will heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears:”
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“Toad you do not know the Faith.”
Possibly not Roger – but I didn’t bring the subject of Mankind’s destruction up.
And we are talking about what might happen here on Planet Earth – not for all eternity.
That means nothing to you, I know. But it does to normal people.
I, too, can see The Destruction of Mankind as a distinct possibility – though for different reasons than the supposed collapse of the institution of marriage.
Despite that unhappy fact, there are more people inhabiting Earth than ever before iin history – so, whether people are married ot not seems irrelevant. Somebody is having a lot of babies.
I’m more inclind to think us humans will destroy ourselves because we are insane and lethal –
and are sawing away the branch we are sitting on.
Maybe today’s Texas floods are a foretaste. There will be others.
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The John the Baptist and the Visitation of the Immaculate Virgin and Our Incarnate Lord. Our Lady’s womb carried the Word made Flesh the Lamb of God destined to open Heaven for Man. One of the wonderous mysteries of the Rosary which answer so many questions.
St John The Baptist and His cry out the wilderness for pray and penance to make straight the ways of the Lord.
Toad all your reasoning can be summed up as “we must go along and accept Sin. The world, the flesh and the Devil.”
You would change the Laws of Light into Darkness.
This world in rejecting Christ has plunged itself into the darkness of Sin. Not just of the Flesh because Sin covers the Heart and the Mind. Satan’s influence in these times is in the thoughts that the world is acting upon, these are not of Christ. Man has being sucked back into the prison that Our Lord’s Passion freed Him from.
Toad over population? This is the world’s excuse for mass murder. Treating Man as farm cattle, with culling and breeding control. Isn’t this the official policy of a global world government?
Marriage? Lets see it was at the Marriage at Cana when Our Lord changed the water into wine at Our Lady’s request. This was the start of His public Life. A start that would lead to the Crucifixion of the Lamb Of God at Easter.
Our Lady told Us “We must live Good Lives” and we haven’t!!!!
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1: “Toad all your reasoning can be summed up as “we must go along and accept Sin. The world, the flesh and the Devil.”
Sin is a matter of opinion*, Roger. So is the Devil. I don’t think he’s got horns and a tail, myself. Some people do. But rejection of the world, where you find yourself thrust unasked – and the flesh, in which you find yourself forced to to live – is not sensible, I suggest. We must accept our limitations. No choice.
*What is sin to you might not be sin for the Archbishop of Canterbury. (Or the Pope.)
2: I didn’t mention overpopulation. But, as world population keeps inexorably rising, “mass murder, culling and breeding control,” clearly isn’t working the way some folk hoped – and others feared, that it would.
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How very appropriate when celebrating St John The Baptist. That Voice crying in the wilderness.
You mentioned world population!! Which is called overpopulation.
Nice word to bandy about it leads to another word Eugenics. From this comes justifying for applying farming techniques to Man. Culling and breeding and to control and Oh yes accelerate Evolution.
The Lodges provide places were the unthinkable could be discussion with impunity! The global spread of Lodges the means to foment and seed these Enlightened ideas.
SIN is a matter of personal opinion?
I need to inform you that the only Opinion here is God’s! That the Church is the mystical Body of Christ (God-Man) so the Catholic has an absolute certainity here over Sin. The Dogma of the Immaculate Conception expressly concerns SIN does it Not?
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More shenanigans from Toad:
“Sin is a matter of opinion”
No it is not! The Catechism of the Catholic Church clearly lays out what sin is. Read it! (The only thing we cannot judge is the amount of guilt attributed to each individual for their sins. That we must leave to The Supreme Judge.)
Nor is the Devil a mere “matter of opinion”. He is a fallen angel, a spiritual being who has rejected obedience to God: “Non serviam” (I will not serve). In his hatred and misery that he brought upon himself, his one goal now is to drag down to Hell as many of God’s children he possibly can. So watch out!
Whether the Devil has horns and a tail, well, we’ll have to wait and see, won’t we? But I can assure you that he will be very ugly. Evil is ugly, and the Devil is pure evil.
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If person “A,” thinks an action, such as eating a bacon sandwich on Friday – is sinful, and person “B” does not – then it must be a matter of opinion. If not – why not?
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Toad here is a personal message to you from Our Lord
Matthew 22:18 “But Jesus knowing their wickedness, said: Why do you tempt me, ye hypocrites?”
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