By Archbishop Thomas Wenski - The Archdiocese of Miami
Archbishop Thomas Wenski preached this homily during a Mass with seminarians at Redemptoris Mater Archdiocesan Missionary Seminary in Hialeah, Oct. 19, 2021.
At a World Youth Day some years ago, the then Pope Benedict met with seminarians and gave them the following advice — which, I think, has stood the test of time and is also pertinent to you today.
- “Ask the Lord,” he said, “to let you imitate him in his perfect charity towards all, so that you do not shun the excluded and sinners but help them convert and return to the right path.
- “Ask him to teach you how to be close to the sick and the poor in simplicity and generosity. Face this challenge without anxiety or mediocrity, but rather as a beautiful way of living our human life in gratuitousness and service, as witnesses of God made man, messengers of the supreme dignity of the human person and therefore its unconditional defenders.
- “Relying on his love, do not be intimidated by surroundings that would exclude God and in which power, wealth and pleasure are frequently the main criteria ruling people’s lives. You may be shunned along with others who propose higher goals or who unmask the false gods before whom many now bow down. That will be the moment when a life deeply rooted in Christ will clearly be seen as something new and it will powerfully attract those who truly search for God, truth and justice.”
This extended quote from Pope Benedict XVI is a good way to segue to the martyred priests whom we celebrate today. They certainly embodied the pope’s advice in their own ministry in the wilderness of North America.
St. Isaac Jogues was, in a way, martyred twice: He was first captured and during a long imprisonment he was tortured and mutilated. He experienced starvation, illness, and torture. He was forced to watch the killing of Christian converts. He spent thirteen months as a slave before escaping to France.
He could have remained there as a living hero. Instead, he went back as a missionary. Before returning, the Jesuit priest had to request a dispensation from the pope. According to the then Church law, a priest needs “canonical digits” to celebrate Mass, and several of his fingers had been cut, chewed, or burnt off.
The pope granted the request, saying, “It would be shameful that a martyr of Christ not be allowed to drink the Blood of Christ.”
And so, with a special dispensation from the pope to celebrate Mass with his mutilated fingers, he returned and was, in short order, martyred by the Indians he wished to win for Christ.
Last week, we also celebrated the feast day of St. Teresa of Avila. She also famously said: “Christ has no body now but yours. No hands, no feet on earth but yours. Yours are the eyes through which he looks with compassion on this world. Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good. Yours are the hands through which he blesses all the world. Yours are the hands, yours are the feet, yours are the eyes, you are his body. Christ has no body now on earth but yours.”
St. Isaac Jogues, who also left a significant amount of correspondence, said: “My hope is in God who has only us with whom to fulfill his plans. It is for us to be faithful and not to spoil his work by our cowardice.”
St. Isaac was not afraid to offer his mutilated hands for God to use to fulfill his plans.
