6/28/2013 – St Saint Irenaeus, Bishop and Martyr – Friday of 12th week in ordinary time – Matthew 8:1-4

        “Lord, you if you wish, you can make me clean.”  What an incredible declaration of faith we hear in our Gospel this morning.  Recently, I have seen so many posts on Facebook and on other sites on the internet of Mississippi State fan so full of joy and enthusiasm in support of their baseball team reaching the College World Series.  I wondered what would happen if we had that same sense of enthusiasm for our faith?  How would we be witnesses in our world with a faith like that!

         Irenaeus is our saint today.  He lived way back in the 2^nd century.  He saw the greatest threat to the faith not the persecutions from the Roman Empire, but rather the philosophy of Gnosticism that was influencing many Christian believers.  One of the strongest beliefs in Gnosticism sees a dualism in the material world vs. the spiritual world.  Gnostics see the spiritual world as superior to the material world – they see a stark contrast between the God of creation and the God of salvation.  Irenaeus defended the connection between the Old Testament and the New Testament.  He saw the material world as being intrinsically good as part of God’s creation and God’s kingdom here on earth.  He died a martyr for the faith around the year 200 defending these beliefs. 

         The faith and fortitude of the leper in today's Gospel and the fortitude and steadfastness of St Irenaeus – these are two examples of faith that we have today as we commemorate the Fortnight for Freedom in our American Catholic Church, as we declare the importance of being able to practice our faith based upon the principles of religious freedom that the founders of our country foresaw.  May these examples of faith encourage us along our journey.