Our Catholic Church is a very diverse body of faith. It has been so since the days of the early church. But it is also one body. We are all in solidarity as members of the Body of Christ in which all believers are baptized. But, as individuals, we are all important to that one Body of Christ as well. Some of us are called as prophets or apostles. Some of us are administrators or teachers or healers. Each member of the Body of Christ has unique talents, abilities, and spiritual gifts.
St John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople from the last half of the 4th century, is the saint we celebrate today. He was in the second group of Early Church fathers who were named to be Doctors of the Church. John was known for his great teaching and preaching abilities. In fact, the name assigned to him - “Chrysostom” - means “golden mouthed.” It was politics that brought him to the seat of Archbishop in Constantinople, but he was direct and honest in the way he preached to the people, not catering to the rich and influential of society. He preached a Gospel that reached out to the poor in justice and integrity. In fact, he once said: “If you cannot find Christ in the beggar at the Church door, you will not find him in the chalice.” His honesty and his candor finally caught up to him when he was sent into exile by the Emperor where he died in 407.
John Chrysistom started his life as a monk, yet his gifts of preaching and teaching, as well as his declining health, brought him to serve the Church as a Bishop. He is remembered today more than 1,600 years after his death as one of the patriarchs of the Early Church. St John Chrysostom, we unite our prayers to yours.
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