MEMORIAL OF ST JOHN DE BREBEUF, ISAAC JOGUES, AND COMPANIONS, OCTOBER 19, 2022

MASS READINGS

A reading of the holy Gospel according to LK 12:39-48

Jesus said to his disciples: “Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour when the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.” Then Peter said, “Lord, is this parable meant for us or for everyone?” And the Lord replied, “Who, then, is the faithful and prudent steward whom the master will put in charge of his servants to distribute the food allowance at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master on arrival finds doing so. Truly, I say to you, he will put him in charge of all his property. But if that servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed in coming,’ and begins to beat the menservants and the maidservants, to eat and drink and get drunk, then that servant’s master will come on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour and will punish the servant severely and assign him a place with the unfaithful. That servant who knew his master’s will but did not make preparations nor act in accord with his will shall be beaten severely; and the servant who was ignorant of his master’s will but acted in a way deserving of a severe beating shall be beaten only lightly. Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.”

REFLECTION

"Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more."

Anyone can write a letter and wait for an answer. The North American Martyrs actively worked for God and the Holy Spirit answered them with the gift of fortitude. And they became saints.

St John de Brebeuf, (1593-1649) Jesuit missionary, and his companions devoted their lives to spreading the Gospel to the Hurons in Quebec. Tall, handsome and commanding in spirit, he could make things happen. He was willing to endure anything if only he could thank God by the salvation of others. He lived with the Hurons, learned their language, their customs, and embraced them for God. He even wrote a catechism for them. The Iroquois attacked the Huron village where they lived. They were bludgeoned, burned with red-hot hatchets, baptized with boiling water, mutilated, flesh stripped off and eaten, and their hearts devoured. (1)

St Isaac Jogues (1607-1646) was a French Jesuit missionary who travelled and worked among the Iroquois, Huron and other Native populations in North America. He lived with them for six years and made many conversions. The Mohawks captured and brutally tortured him. He lost two fingers in the torture and spent thirteen months as a slave. He was rescued by Dutch merchants and returned to France. In spite of his mutilated hands, he obtained permission to celebrate Mass He returned to live with the Mohawks but the Mohawks blamed him for their famine and illness, tomahawked his skull and hung his head for all to see. (1)

They wrote letters and described their poor conditions--poor food supplies, harsh cold winters, hostile environment and people. Through their writings we are close to them, though far away by centuries. Time has separated us from the fear that they experienced and the pain they endured for the spread of His Word.

"How I grieve, my God, that you are not known, that this savage country is not yet wholly converted to faith in you, that sin is not yet blotted out."

(John de Brebeuf).

Pax Christi

Source:

(1) Ignatianspirituality.com