Today, we commemorate St. John de Brebeuf and his 7
Jesuit companions who were martyred by the Mohawk natives in Canada in 1649 as
they brought the word of God to the Huron nation. Brebeuf converted hundreds of Hurons to the Catholic faith in the present-day
Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. In
addition to writing a Huron – French dictionary that is still used today in the
study of the native languages of North America. John de Brebeuf is also
credited with writing the first original native North American Christmas carol,
which has been sung in parts of Canada since the early 1600s. It is appropriately called the Huron Carol. In
fact, whenever I go back to Winnipeg to visit my friends during the Christmas
season, I enjoy singing this hymn in church.
In
the Gospel today, we hear someone is the crowd asking Jesus to intercede in
having his brother share his inheritance with him. Jesus
responds with a story about a rich man; he concludes with a question God asks
of this rich man, asking him about who would be the owner of his possessions
after he should die. There
are so many in our society who put their priority in material gain, in amassing
possessions and wealth, fame and fortune. Do we
accumulate those possessions that our society deems to be important, or do we
store up those possessions that matter most to God?
Across history and time, John de Brebeuf cries out in the wilderness, to a
faith and a mission that perhaps we don't see often enough in our society.
today. Tuberculosis
almost kept him from becoming a Jesuit, yet he persevered and headed off to
North America to bring our Catholic faith to others, even though he knew he
would probably die of illness or violence at a young age like so many other
missionaries did. He
put his faith in where God was leading him, not in earthly possessions and
glory. May John
de Brebeuf and his Jesuit companions, the patron saints of Canada, be examples
to us in how can live out our lives of faith with zeal and courage, not letting
the ways of the world get in the way of what is truly important.
No comments:
Post a Comment