Yesterday at our daily Mass, we commemorated St Boniface, who lived back in the 8th century and who brought Christ’s Good News to many of the ethnic groups who were living in modern-day Germany. Today, we celebrate another priest who was a missionary to that same part of the world: St Norbert. Norbert’s life is similar to that of St Paul in some ways, of whom we hear in our reading from Acts today. Norbert was born in the 12th century in the French region of Premontre to an aristocratic family. However, like Paul, he had a dramatic conversion experience when he was thrown from a horse. He heard God tell him: “Turn away from evil and do good. Seek peace and pursue it.” Upon his ordination to the priesthood, Norbert gave away all his earthly wealth. He later founded a new religious community in France called the Norbertines. That religious order sought to fight against the heresies prevalent in that area and to bring back those who had strayed from the faith. Norbert later became the Bishop of Magdeburg in Germany, but continued to live the austere life of a monk. In fact, when he first arrived at the episcopal palace in that city, he was so austerely dressed that they thought he was a beggar. We give thanks for the Norbertines who served in many different ministries here in our Diocese for many years.
In our reading for the Acts of the Apostles today, we hear the charges against Paul being explained to Herod Agrippa, the head of this region of the Roman empire. It is explained to Herod that Paul is not accused by the chief priests and the elders of the Jewish people of criminal charges related to laws of the Roman empire, but rather of violating Jewish religious laws, specifically related to Jesus, who Paul claims is alive. Often, our Catholic faith can be misunderstood, especially here in Mississippi where there are very few Catholics. May the Lord always help us to have the courage to persevere in the faith.
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