Friday, July 12, 2024

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.