In modern America, we take electricity for granted. Our world is lit up at night. But that is not reality in other parts of the world. When I was a Peace Corps volunteer in the country of of Guinea in West Africa on an island off the coast of the capital city of Conakry, there was no electricity at all on the island. I used to use a kerosene lantern or a candle to read by at night. It did not give off a lot of light. So when Jesus tells us that we should not keep our light hidden but expose that light to the world, maybe we don’t really understand how important light really is, since light is everywhere in our modern world.
Saints Andrew Kim Taegon and companion are commemorated in our Mass today. Andrew Kim was the first native Korean priest. The son of Christian converts, he was baptized into Christianity at the age of 15. He had to travel to China for his seminary training. He was arrested, tortured and beheaded at the age of 25 at the beginning of his priestly ministry. Pope John Paul II canonized a group of 100 Korean martyrs when he visited that country in 1984, the majority being lay men and women. They were martyred in the years 1839 - 1867. Many were martyred in our Church for trying to be lights in the world in times of persecution. All of us Christians are tasked to be a light for the Gospel message in the world.
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