The saint we celebrate today, St Stanislaus, is an important figure in the history of the Church in Eastern Europe. He was born in Szczepanow near Kraków in present day Poland in 1030. His preaching and his example of faith brought about real conversion in many of his flock. He became bishop of Kraków in 1072. In this era, there was a tense political situation in Poland at the time. Stanislaus was an outspoken critic of the king, of wars that Stanislaus saw as unjust and other actions he saw as immoral. At first the king repented, but then returned to his old ways. Continuing to be outspoken against the king, Stanislaus was charged with treason and threatened with death. When the king’s soldiers refused to kill Stanislaus, the king killed him himself. Supposedly the king repented for his actions after he fled his country and lived in exile.
The law of God vs the law of man. The values of the Gospel vs the values of the secular world. The call of earthly whims and desires vs the call we have from God. Just as St Stanislaus battled these things in his own era, the apostles battled these seemingly different realities as they came up for trial before the Jewish authorities in our reading from Acts today. The apostles saw their calling to preach the Gospel as intrinsic to the lives that they lived here on earth. May all of us continue to find our spiritual way in the midst of our earthly journey.
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