April 23 2018 - St. Adalbert - Good Shepherd, Bishop-missionary and martyr

1000 years after the martyrdom of the bishop-missionary St. Adalbert, Pope St. John Paul went to his tomb in Poland. Listen to these challenging words by our beloved St. John Paul: “the witness of St Adalbert is ever present in the Church and constantly bearing fruit. We need to take up with fresh vigor his work of evangelization. Let us help those who have forgotten Christ and his teaching to discover him anew. This will happen when ranks of faithful witnesses to the Gospel begin once more to traverse our continent; when works of architecture, literature and art show in a convincing way to the people of our time the One who is "the same yesterday and today and forever"; when in the Church's celebration of the liturgy people see how beautiful it is to give glory to God; when they discern in our lives a witness of Christian mercy, heroic love and holiness.”

Though the Pope spoke these words to the people of eastern Europe, they are true for Christians everywhere. Though we are not necessarily all called to be a bishop and martyr like St. Adalbert, each of us are called, in our own way, to evangelize, to build up the Church in our own way. Particularly, I love the Pope’s calling to us to build beautiful architecture, write powerful literature, make beautiful sacred art, and to celebrate liturgy in a noble and reverent fashion, to convince people of Christ’s goodness, truth, and beauty.

Yet, don’t we also show the truth, goodness, and beauty of Christ when we teach little children about Jesus, or when we honor the dignity of the poor by becoming truly sensitive to their needs.

Jesus in the Gospel, calls himself the Good Shepherd. St. Adalbert, like the apostles, left the comfort of his native bohemia, what is now the Czech republic, to shepherd the pagan people of Hungary into the one flock of Christ.. Due to his conviction, the pagan priests of Prussia conspired to have him murdered. He is a patron saint of Poland, Bohemia, the Czech Republic, and Prussia, inspiring each of us to listen to the call of the Lord to go beyond our comfort zones to spread his Gospel, to be good shepherds for his flock, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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God the Father was glorified in the death and resurrection of his Son. Let us pray to him with confidence.

God the Father bathed the world in splendor when Christ rose again in glory, may our minds be filled with the light of faith.

Through the resurrection of His Son, the Father opened for us the way to eternal life, may we be sustained today in our work with the hope of glory.

Through His risen Son, the Father sent the Holy Spirit into the world, may our hearts be set on fire with spiritual love.

May Jesus Christ, who was crucified to set us free, be the salvation of all those who suffer, particularly those who suffer from physical or mental illness, addiction, and grief.

That all of our beloved dead and all the souls in purgatory may come to the glory of the Resurrection.
O God, you know that our life in this present age is subject to suffering and need, hear the desires of those who cry to you and receive the prayers of those who believe in you. Through Christ our lord.