Archbishop of Utrecht<\/a> for condemning the treatment of the Jewish population of Europe.<\/p>\nAnd on a day like today, seventy-five years ago, August 14th<\/sup>, 1941, a Franciscan priest, Saint Maximilian Kolbe, died in Auschwitz after freely volunteering to die in place of another prisoner.\u00a0 Saint Maximilian died along with over 3,000 Polish priests who were murdered by the Nazis during World War II.\u00a0 The preaching of the Gospel was a threat.<\/p>\n\u201cI have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing! Do you think that I have come to establish peace on earth?\u00a0 No, I tell you, but rather division.\u201d<\/p>\nChapel where Archbishop Romero was shot in San Salvador. I visited in 2013.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nMany throughout the centuries have wondered what exactly Jesus meant when he uttered these puzzling words.\u00a0 If Jesus is the Prince of Peace, if Jesus has come to reconcile us to the Father, how can Jesus say that he brings division and that he has not come to establish peace on earth?<\/p>\n
Today\u2019s readings point to the reality that the preaching of the Gospel causes deep tensions in the world.\u00a0 Considering these twentieth century martyrs also reminds us of this reality.\u00a0 Many do not want to hear the Gospel, and even wage war against it.\u00a0 In the preaching of the Gospel, we do not have to go looking for enemies.\u00a0 We do not have to go looking for division.\u00a0 The Gospel itself has enemies, and will cause a negative response from hearts that are distant from God.<\/p>\n
Consider also the recent gruesome murder of Father Jacques Hamel, killed in France while he celebrated Mass.\u00a0 The preaching of the Gospel led to his death at the hands of ISIS militants.<\/p>\nA paschal candle marks the cell where Saint Maximilian Kolbe died in Auschwitz. I visited in 2005.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThe puzzling words of Jesus become understandable when we consider the persecution that has existed throughout the history of the Church, beginning with the execution of Jesus himself.<\/p>\n
The prophet Jeremiah was called by God to preach repentance at a time when many Jews had turned away from God.\u00a0 He warned them that if they did not repent, Jerusalem would fall into enemy hands and be destroyed. Nobody listened, he was persecuted, many wanted him dead.\u00a0 We heard in the first reading how he was put into a cistern because people found him bothersome.<\/p>\n
The truth Jeremiah preached was not welcomed. His divine message divided people and did not bring peace, and eventually, it is believed, led to his death. Just as many waged war against the words of Jeremiah, many have, and continue, to wage war against the Good News of Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n
The Gospel in itself is not a divisive or conflict-ridden message. \u00a0Conflict does arise because it is impossible to remain indifferent to the Gospel.\u00a0 Some accept it joyfully and transform their lives for good.\u00a0 Others reject it with great hatred and scorn.\u00a0 We all know individuals; they may be co-workers, family members, even friends, who become enraged at the mention of Jesus Christ and his message.<\/p>\nMass at the parish in Santiago Atitl\u00e1n, Guatemala where Father Stanley Rother was killed. I visited in 2013.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nAs disciples of Christ, we must strive to remain united.\u00a0 When conflict arises among us, we are doing it wrong.\u00a0 We already have enough enemies; we should not make fellow Christians the enemy!<\/p>\n
As we remember the countless men and women who have lived their lives as faithful disciples of Christ, giving witness to the Gospel they received, we pray to remain steadfast in our own discipleship of Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n
The world rages against our message, a message that does not belong to this world.<\/p>\n
We are aware that the world has time and again rejected what we preach, waging an irrational war full of hatred and malice towards the Church.\u00a0 May God the Father, who gathers us together at this Holy Eucharist, help us to live united through the one baptism that we share, and through the one body of Christ that we receive.\u00a0 May we remain steadfast like those before us, despite contempt and scorn, knowing that Jesus Christ remains with us always.<\/p>\n
All the pictures are mine, all rights reserved. \u00a0Featured image from public domain<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In 1998, the Guatemalan government murdered Bishop Juan Jose Gerardi of Guatemala City in his house two days after the Bishop presented an official report compiled by the Archdiocese detailing years of right-wing government and military oppression towards the indigenous population. In 1991, two young Franciscan Polish priests, Blessed\u00a0Michele Tomaszek and BlessedZbigneo Strzalkowski, were brutally […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2533,"featured_media":1994,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[81],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1985","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-homily"],"yoast_head":"\n
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