There are some similarities in the stories of David and Herod. They both were kings of Israel. They both were guilty of adultery and were involved in a murder. Both of them were confronted by a prophet who told them their sin; however only David was courageous enough to follow the voice of his conscience, to confess his sins and repent for them.

Conscience is a wonderful gift from God that helps us to recognize God's voice and to follow God's law. It is a mysterious voice though. We hear it but we don't have control over it. We have great peace in our heart and mind when we follow our conscience. We experience great torment when we act against the voice of our conscience. We can indeed be indifferent or try to silence our conscience; however, our life, words and actions give proof to our human and Christian dignity as long as we listen to it.

We form our righteous and sensitive conscience not only when we follow its voice but most of all when we shape it in accordance to the norms of God's law and the teaching of the Church. Today's Gospel tells us also that when forming our conscience we can receive a great help from a prophet that means from someone good and holy who will admonish us when we are trapped in self-righteousness and subjectivity and encourage us when we lose heart struggling against our sins and vices.