October 19 2021 - St. Isaac Jogues & Martyred Companions - Our single endeavor

 In 1636 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 converted to Christianity through Father Isaac and his companions missionary activity.  However, the Hurons were constantly attacked by the Iroquois, and during one attack, Father Isaac and his missionaries were captured by the Iroquois and imprisoned for 13 months.  They were led from village to village, beaten, tortured, and forced to watch as the Huron Christian converts were mangled and killed by the Iroquois.

Fr. Isaac was able to escape from imprisonment and returned to France. And, 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.  

Fr. Isaac could have stayed in Europe to live safely and die peacefully. But he burned with zeal for the Gospel. In 1646, the Iroquois signed a peace treaty with the Hurons, and Fr. Isaac thought it a good opportunity to begin preaching now 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 companions were 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.  Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, the Lily of the Mohawks, could trace her faith to the preaching of Isaac Jogues.

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.” Our single endeavor. At every moment, doing the Lord’s will, doing the Lord’s work…it’s not our first priority, it’s our only priority. 

What would my prayer life need to look life, in order to support that belief? How might I need to better discipline my time? What would I need to cut out of my life, in order to make the work of the spread of the Gospel my single endeavor? 

May St. Isaac Jogues help us to pursue this endeavor, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That religious indifference in our country and around the world may be transformed to radical commitment to the Gospel of Christ.

For the transformation of all attitudes which lead to war, violence, racial hatred, and religious persecution.

For the conversion of Atheists, hardened sinners, the religiously indifferent, lapsed Catholics, and the conversion of all hearts.

“That our parishes, animated by a missionary spirit, may be a place where faith is communicated and charity is seen.”

That the love of Christ, the divine physician, may bring healing to the sick and comfort to all the suffering. 

For the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, and all the poor souls in purgatory, for deceased clergy and religious, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom.

O God, you know that our life in this present age is subject to suffering and need, hear the prayers of those who cry to you and receive the prayers of those who believe in you. Through Christ our Lord.

October 19 2020 - St. isaac Jogues & Martyred Companions - The Missionary Spirit

 Since 1926, the third Sunday of October, yesterday, has been set aside for the Catholic Church around the world to renew its commitment to missionary work.  So yesterday, was World Mission Sunday. 

For many decades, men and women from this country would answer the call to bring the Gospel to Africa, Asia, South and Central America, the Middle East.  Now, many priests and religious from those countries, come here, yes, to minister to immigrants from their native land, but also to do some of the hard work of evangelization that American Catholics are sometimes unwilling to do.

It takes great courage, great conviction for the Gospel to leave one’s native land, and a great openness and trust in the Lord.  No doubt we need to do a much better job cultivating that missionary spirit, especially among our young people.  

We celebrate today saints who left the comfort of their native land to bring the Gospel to North America.  Saint Isaac Jogues, Saint John de Brebeuf, and their Jesuit companions came from France in the mid 1600s,  and preached the Gospel in the Northern U.S. and southern Canada, primarily Quebec.  Even before setting sail for these shores, they readied themselves for hardship, peril, and the likelihood of martyrdom. 

Imagine the courage it takes, the conviction for the Gospel, to leave your home, knowing that you would likely die for the message you carried.  Conviction for the Gospel—“to make disciples of all nations”, as we read in the Gospels, must have burned in their breasts. The love of Jesus Christ and for the desire for the salvation of souls must have animated them in ways we cannot fathom.

Listen to these words from the spiritual diary of St. John de Brebeuf, to get a sense of this man’s conviction: “Jesus, my Lord and savior, what can I give you in return for all the favors you have first conferred on me? I will take from your hand the cup of your sufferings and call on your name…I bind myself in this way so that for the rest of my life I will have neither permission nor freedom to refuse opportunities of dying and shedding my blood for you, unless at a particular juncture I should consider it more suitable for your glory to act otherwise at that time. Further, I bind myself to this so that, on receiving the blow of death, I shall accept it from your hands with the fullest delight and joy of spirit.”

Imagine the sort of prayer life that brings a man such tremendous freedom, to give his life away for Jesus.  May each of us be filled with similar conviction for the Gospel, in bringing Christ to souls and souls to Christ, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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For the success of the Chrch’s missionary activity: for the conversion of unbelievers, the indifferent, the lapsed, and the hardened sinner. Let us pray to the Lord.

That our young people may take seriously the call to holiness, and turn away from the evils of our culture to spread the good news of Christ’s eternal kingdom.

For the transformation of all attitudes which lead to war, violence, racial hatred, and religious persecution.

That the love of Christ, the divine physician, may bring healing to the sick and comfort to all the suffering. 

For the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, and all the poor souls in purgatory, for the repose of the souls of all those who made our reception of the faith possible. 

O God, you know that our life in this present age is subject to suffering and need, hear the prayers of those who cry to you and receive the prayers of those who believe in you. Through Christ our Lord.

October 19 2017 - St. Isaac Jogues and Companions - First Martyrs of North America

Saint Isaac Jogues, St. John de Brebeuf and their 6 french Jesuit companions were the first martyrs of North America to be canonized.  In 1636 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 converted to Christianity through Father Isaac and companions missionary activity.  However, the Hurons were constantly attacked by the Iroquois, and during one attack, Father Isaac and his companions were captured by the Iroquois and imprisoned for 13 months.  They were led from village to village, beaten, tortured, and forced to watch as the Huron Christian converts were mangled and killed by the Iroquois.

Fr. Isaac was able to escape from imprisonment and returned to France. And, 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. 

Fr. Isaac could have stayed in Europe to live safely and die peacefully. But he burned with zeal for the Gospel. In 1646, the Iroquois signed a peace treaty with the Hurons, and Fr. Isaac thought it a good opportunity to begin preaching now 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 companions were 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.  Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, the Lily of the Mohawks, could trace her faith to the preaching of Isaac Jogues.

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.”

Have we given ourselves to the work of the spread of the Gospel? For the Saints, spreading the Gospel was not to sit idly by, hoping that people approached them with questions.

Remember, last month, Pope Francis’ prayer was that parishes be animated by the missionary spirit. The missionary is sent out, they go out actively pursuing the salvation of souls, actively striving to bring others to Christ. May the courage of our own North American Martyrs fill us with zeal in spreading the Gospel for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That religious indifference in our country and around the world may be transformed to radical commitment to the Gospel of Christ.

For the transformation of all attitudes which lead to war, violence, racial hatred, and religious persecution.

For the conversion of Atheists, hardened sinners, the religiously indifferent, lapsed Catholics, and the conversion of all hearts.

“That our parishes, animated by a missionary spirit, may be places where faith is communicated and charity is seen.”

That the love of Christ, the divine physician, may bring healing to the sick and comfort to all the suffering.

For the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, and all the poor souls in purgatory, for deceased clergy and religious, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom.

O God, you know that our life in this present age is subject to suffering and need, hear the prayers of those who cry to you and receive the prayers of those who believe in you. Through Christ our Lord.