Today is the Feast Day of Saint Isaac Jogues, St. John de
Brebeuf and 6 french Jesuit companions, the first martyrs of North America to
be canonized by the Church. In1636 the
Jesuit Priest Isaac Jogues traveled to Quebec to preach the Gospel to the Huron
Indians. The Hurons were a pretty
peaceful group, and many Hurons were converted to Christianity through the
preaching and charity of Isaac, John, and their companions. However, the Hurons were constantly attacked
by the Iroquois. During one attack,
Father Isaac was captured by the Iroquois and imprisoned for 13 months. He and his companions were led from village
to village, beaten, tortured, and forced to watch as the Huron converts were
mangled and killed by the Iroquois.
Fr. Isaac was able to escape from imprisonment and he
returned to France. He had to receive
special permission from the Pope to continue to celebrate Mass because several
of his fingers had been cut, chewed, or burnt off. Many people, including the Pope, were
inspired by Fr. Isaac, because they saw his willingness to suffer and die for
the faith.
Fr. Isaac could have stayed in Europe, live safely, and die
peacefully. But, in 1646, the Iroquois signed
a peace treaty with the Hurons, and Fr. Isaac thought it a good opportunity to
begin preaching to the Iroquois. However,
on his way to evangelize the Iroquois he was captured by a war party of Mohawk
Indians, and on October 18, 1646, Father Isaac was tomahawked and
beheaded. His companion was killed the
next day.
Many Iroquois saw his courageous faith as proof of the
authenticity and power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Many Iroquois converted to Christianity and
welcomed missionaries with open arms.
Moreover, the faith began to grow amongst the Mohawks as well. We say the blood of the martyrs is the seed
of the Church, and from the Mohawks came another figure of holiness—Saint
Kateri Tekakwitha—known as the Lily of the Mohawks for her purity and devotion to
the will of God.
St. Isaac wrote a letter before his death. He wrote: “Our single endeavor should be to
give ourselves to the work of the spread of the Gospel and faithfulness to God,
and to not let our own desires get in the way of doing God’s work.”
For the Saints, the work of spreading the Gospel is not to
sit idly by, cross their fingers and hope for the best. They actively pursue the salvation of
souls—they actively strive to bring others to Christ, so that they may know
Jesus in this life and in the life to come.
May the courage of our own North American Martyrs fill us
with fervor in continuing to work for the spread of the Gospel in our land and
around the world for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
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