Friday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time
(Hosea 14:2-10; Matthew 10:16-23)
During the Diocletian persecution at the beginning of the
fourth century many Christians were martyred. Being found at mass was reason enough
to earn martyrdom. At the town of Abitinae in present Tunisia a group of
forty-nine Christians were surprised while celebrating Sunday mass. They were
questioned before being tortured and executed. One of their number responded to
the interrogator: “Sine domininico no pussumus” (Without Sunday we
cannot live.)
The answer shows how Jesus' prophecy in the gospel was
fulfilled. The Spirit of God the Father spoke for the Christian giving a
testimony that continues to inspire more than 1700 years later. What he said
was not false or exaggerated. Without the Eucharist, that most receive only on
Sunday, our life is in a sense lifeless. The Eucharist forgives our sins,
unifies us in love, and strengthens us to reach eternal life.
Unfortunately, many Catholics today do not appreciate the
Eucharist as a source of life. They do not believe that the Lord is really
present under the forms of bread and wine. It is up to us to bear witness not
only with righteous lives but with words indicating our belief.
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