In these days the Church invites us to reflect on readings from a set of books we rarely read from - the two Books of Maccabees! Our First Reading today is taken from the First Book of Maccabees.
Set in the small city of Modein, the reading tells the powerful story of faith, zeal, and unwavering commitment to God’s covenant by the Jewish people in the face of intense religious persecution. King Antiochus Epiphanes wanted the Jewish people to abandon their ancestral religion and embrace foreign religions. Mattathias and his sons resisted the religious and cultural imposition. He led a fierce struggle for the Jewish people to stay with their religious beliefs, values, and practices.
How Serious Are We?
If there are any two important questions for us to reflect on during the day drawn from the Maccabean experience, the two questions are: How deep are my religious convictions? What price am I willing to pay for my faith? The two questions flow from the Maccabean experience.
As we have heard, King Antiochus offered Mattathias “friendship” and wealth, and personal comfort, but Mattathias valued his covenant with God above any wealth, any friendship in the world, any comfort, or even his life! He and his followers left everything behind and chose to live by the faith of their ancestors. The reading invites us to interrogate our own level of commitment and ask ourselves: Am I willing to stand apart when the world pushes me to conform? How much do I value my relationship with God above the allures and promises of worldly success, money, or popularity?
Suffering for Faith
History is replete with several examples of other people who had to suffer persecution because of their faith. The Catholics in England faced similar persecution during the days of Henry VIII, the Irish Catholics went through a similar experience, and the northern Nigerians are now going through an almost similar experience. To some of us, the pressure may not come to such levels, but it can certainly come in other forms such as constant pressure from the world to abandon our values in exchange for wealth, for status, for comfort, for career success, or security. The temptation to simply go along and to get along, to choose the path of least resistance in our world can be so appealing!
Unwavering Courage
There is an old hymn in the English Catholic tradition that was composed by William Faber in 1849. The hymn honors the Catholic martyrs who were killed in England and Ireland. It celebrates the unwavering courage and commitment to the Gospel of the martyrs, but even more importantly promises commitment to take after the example of their ancestors in faith. The refrain says:
Faith of our Fathers! Holy Faith!
We will be true to thee till death!
May we through this Mass, ask the Lord to renew His grace within us so that we can courageously commit ourselves to the Gospel especially in trying circumstances. May His grace constantly aid us to remain true to the “Faith of Our Fathers!”
- Father Fred's inspirational homily was recorded live during Mass at the Father Peyton Center this morning. You can view the Mass (at the 30-minute mark) on the Family Rosary YouTube page.
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