August 1, 2026 // Memorial of Saint Alphonsus Liguori, Bishop and Doctor of the Church
Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s Gospel from Matthew 14:1-12
My sister sat me down. She was my oldest sister, wiser, and had been in the world a bit. She seemed wildly accomplished working for a U.S. senator in Washington, D.C., on the Hill; living in a sophisticated, complex city; rubbing elbows with some of the most powerful people in the country; and completely holding her own. She was tall—I’m short. She was absolutely drop dead gorgeous—I’m rather average. She towered over me, it felt, in stature, in beauty, in gravitas.
I was lamenting to her my most recent doctor appointment. I was twenty and the doctor railed that I was not on birth control. I further lamented that the girls in the dorm were torturous, rolling their eyes and mocking me, saying things like, “Yeah, sure, you’re a virgin!” As though it was a dirty word. I seemed so out of step with the world around me for hoping to remain chaste until my wedding day. Even my doctor was in utter disbelief that such a thing was possible, much less desirable.
My sister said something I’ll never forget. She said, “They can’t believe it of you because they can’t believe it for themselves.” That is, don’t ever let someone else’s low self-opinion determine who you are. Amen, sister!
Her thought stayed with me. How useless and even pitiful it was to spend one ounce of energy worrying what other people think.
Herod should have met my sister, for he “feared the people” (Matthew 14:5). If she’d stepped into today’s Gospel from Matthew, my sister would have told him, “You’re Herod! Why do you care what people think if you don’t behead John the Baptist? Have a little courage and self-respect, man!” I can see this confrontation in my mind—my sister towering and beautiful over this quivering, insecure king. The image fills me with delight and fervor to serve the Lord with greater fearlessness.
When we are afraid of what others think, we must remember who we are: daughters of the King. He will give us the strength to do what is right—no matter the mocking crowds.
Relate to the Lord // Ponder this truth all day: you are a daughter of the King.
