In last Sunday’s Mass on the first Sunday of Lent, our readings addressed God’s faithfulness to us and our response to that faithfulness. In a real life example of these readings, I saw a story about the life of St John Chrysostom (347 - 407). John Chrysostom was an important Early Church Father. Born in the middle of the 4th century, he was greatly admired for his public speaking and preaching skills. The name “Chrysostom” comes from the Greek word that means “golden throated,” in reference to his great oratory skills. John was sent from the city of Antioch to the capital city of Constantinople, both cities in the country of present-day Turkey, where he served as Archbishop. He preached with great courage in this capital city of the Eastern Roman Empire. His denunciation of the extravagances of the rich and ruling classes and his condemnation of their excesses infuriated many, including the Empress, who ordered him to be sent into exile. When he was told of his order to go into exile, John Chrysostom responded: “What can I fear? Will it be death? But you know that Christ is my life, and that I shall gain by death. Will it be exile? But the earth and all its fullness is the Lord’s. Will it be the loss of wealth? But we brought nothing into the world, and can carry nothing out. Thus all the terrors of the world are contemptible in my eyes, and I smile at all its good things. Poverty I do not fear. Riches I do not sigh for. Death I do not shrink from.” Nothing concerning the circumstance of his life compared to the faithfulness of God.
God asks us to respond to his faithfulness to us with our own faithfulness. So many of the saints display this faithfulness in the difficult and challenging circumstance of their lives. May the example of St John Chrysostom and so many of the other saints encourage us in the reality of our own lives, especially in the context of our Lenten journey.
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