The saint we celebrate today is an important leader in the history of the Church in Eastern Europe. St Stanislaus was born near Kraków, Poland in the year 1030. As a priest, his preaching and his example of faith brought about many conversions to the faith and a deepening of the faith of his faith. He was appointed bishop of Kraków in 1072. In this era of history, there was a tense political situation in Poland. Stanislaus was an outspoken critic of the king, of wars that Stanislaus saw as unjust and of other actions he saw as immoral. At first the king repented, but then he returned to his old ways. Continuing to be outspoken against the king, Stanislaus was charged with treason and was threatened with death. When the king’s soldiers refused to kill Stanislaus, the king killed him himself. Realizing what he did, the king repented for his actions, fleeing his country and living in exile.
In our first reading, we continue to hear the members of the early Church preach the Gospel message and give testimony. In our Gospel, we hear about one of the post resurrection appearances of Jesus. Both of these readings emphasize the importance of our faith in Jesus and how we have the responsibility to bear witness to his Gospel message. Even when there is great opposition to us bearing witness to the Gospel message, we still bear responsibility to testify to his resurrection and his teachings. These readings also stress the importance of the authority of God over the authority of man. Peter and John disobey the orders they have from the Jewish authorities against them bearing witness to Christ. The assert their obligation to obey God. These readings reflect the theme at the end of Matthew’s Gospel, of our mission to preach the Gospel message to the whole world and to baptize in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. As we celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday this weekend and as we commemorate our Lady of Fatima today in our devotions in our Saturday morning Mass, may we reflect upon the ways we can bring the Gospel message to others.
No comments:
Post a Comment