I read with interest “So, This Is Sainthood?” (Searching Scripture, August). August 29, the beheading (martyrdom) of St. John the Baptist, is Sept. 11 on the Julian calendar. My paternal grandmother’s family is from the Carpathian Mountain region of present-day Slovakia, where that calendar is still used for liturgical dates. This date (Gregorian, Aug. 29/Julian, Sept. 11) is historically a day of much piety. The villagers wait in long lines for confession and absolution. For centuries it has been a day set aside to remember St. John’s witness and death, but also to recognize the works of Satan in the world. The faithful from that region saw great significance in our tragedy on that same day in 2001. Let us remember that many Eastern Christians are commemorating John the Baptist on Sept. 11, and draw from it assurance of God’s great design for us.
John Froebel-Parker
New Baltimore, N.Y
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