Memorial of Saint Josaphat, Bishop and Martyr
(Titus 2:1-8.11-14;
Luke 17:7-10)
Today’s readings sound
severe. They contain very little Gospel
promise and much evangelical demand.
Neither the author of the Letter to Titus nor Jesus in the gospel
reading will allow disciples to shirk their responsibilities. The Letter to Titus insists that Christians be
temperate, chaste, and faithful. Jesus
no less commands his apostles to concentrate on service, not on rewards.
Today’s patron saint,
Josaphat, provides an excellent example of unwavering service to the Lord. He was a monk in the Ruthenian Catholic
Church when he was made archbishop of Polotsk in today’s Belarus. There he was caught in the middle of two
power struggles: one between Catholics and Orthodox and another between
different Catholic groups. Yet he
administered his archdiocese, cared for the poor, and won many converts to
Catholicism.
Of course, we cannot
forget that the gospel is first and foremost the good news of our salvation via
faith in Jesus Christ. There’s only a glimmer
of this message in today’s Mass readings, but the Mass prayers resound with
it. Jesus urges us to shine like the stars
in doing what is right. He also provides
the grace that we might do so.
