In the gospel today, Jesus said to His disciples, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but underneath are ravenous wolves.” They are with us still, preying on the elderly while others promote political or religious thought that is deceptive.
The good news today however is that we are celebrating the lives of inspirational persons who left us deep prints; persons who bore good fruit, whose lives were God-centered and not self-centered. I am speaking of King Josiah, Saint Paulinus of Nola, Saint John Fisher, and Saint Thomas More.
What a noble man King Josiah was. We heard how a priest during his reign discovered long lost fragments from the Book of the Law. When the king learned of this discovery, he instituted a reform throughout his kingdom seeking to abide by the long-forgotten Commandments of God. The King made a covenant before the Lord that all people would follow and observe the Lord’s ordinances, statues and decrees with their whole heart and soul.
Nola was born of a wealthy family in France, married and moved to Spain where he and his wife lived a simple life using their riches to help pilgrims and the poor. May we learn that not riches, but our use of them is what is worthy or acceptable to God.
Saints John Fisher and Thomas More were put to death by the command of their King, Henry the VIII, for refusing to sign the Act of Succession recognizing the king’s divorce in opposition to papal authority. Both of these men were the king’s good servants but God’s first.
As we offer our prayer petitions at Mass, let us pray for leaders like Josiah, Paulinus of Nola, John Fisher and Thomas More.
Each of us is called to live a God-centered life however the noise that surrounds us sometimes prevents us from allowing God’s Word to enter our hearts, to change and reform us as it did King Josiah, his people, Paulinus, John Fisher and Thomas More.
Like the psalmist today, let us ask God to instruct us that in observing more faithfully his laws and statues, we may better discern who are the sheep and who are the wolves.
