There are stories about our ancestors in the faith that are important for us to hear over and over again, because they affirm the truth of what Jesus said today in the gospel: that the Kingdom of God is among us and that Christ continues to suffer and be rejected.
We celebrate the life of Saint Josaphat who worked tirelessly to support the efforts of a Ruthenian Orthodox metropolitan who brought his church into communion with Rome, a move that sadly lacked popular support.
Archbishop Josaphat would later draw many to the Catholic Church through example, but supporters of a rival bishop shot Josaphat and ended his life.
Throughout Josaphat's life, he was a beacon of light for what unites us rather than what divides us - and like Christ, he suffered and was rejected.
Regrettably, beacons of light today continue to suffer a similar fate. There will be those who say such beacons are false prophets. They will ignore the advice of Jesus, which was to look instead for good, where the kingdom of God is among us.
What do we look for in the world? In Psalm 146 it is the one who secures justice for the oppressed, gives food to the hungry, gives sight to the blind, raises up those who are bowed low, loves the just, protects strangers, and sustains the fatherless and widows.
Blessed are those among us who are these beacons of light.
Like Saint Josaphat, let us seek to become beacons of light for what unites us rather than what divides us.
- Father Leo's inspirational homily was recorded live this morning during Mass at the Father Peyton Center. Please view the video on our Facebook page. (You don't need a Facebook account to view.)
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