Monday of Week 5 in Ordinary Time (Year I)
Saints Paul Miki and his Companions, Martyrs
Genesis 1:1-19 | Psalm 103(104):1-2,5-6,10,12,24,35 | Mark 6:53-56
I was quite surprised to see Genesis 1 in today’s scripture. I’d long associated it with the great feast that is the Easter Vigil, where we begin by recollecting the miracles that started it all, the wonder of Creation itself.
I see a parallel between that passage and the story of the 26 Martyrs of Japan, whose memorial we commemorate today. There is surprisingly little information about them online, but it’s clear that these were people of great faith, who went to their deaths singing the great praise hymn to God, the Te Deum.
But that great faith began from nothing, as our own faith began from nothing. For St. Paul Miki and his companions, and for all of us, we started in a formless void, not knowing, not understanding.
Then as we began our catechetical instruction, a new dawn broke in our minds, the illumination of God’s love gradually becoming clearer. “Sia la luce”, as the Italians would say – “let there be light”.
As we progressed, we began to mentally divide the divine from the mundane, just as God divided the heavens from the earth.
Our foundation in faith emerged, as we learned about the stories that Jesus told during his ministry, and the prophets that came before Him, and a thousand other details. We were now standing on firm ground, looking out at the dark waters that were our previous home, the seas of secular indifference and temptation.
And then we began to put our faith in action, going out to spread good cheer at Christmas time, helping out at hospices and orphanages, bearing the plentiful fruit of Christ’s love and mercy.
With that, we became beacons of light to others, beacons of Christ-like charity, guiding everyone to the One True God. And it was all good.
✞ ✞ ✞ ✞ ✞
I’d like to think that this is how St. Paul Miki and his companions developed along their journey of faith, but we will probably never know.
As for us…who are we kidding? Catechism class was boring, irrelevant to our daily lives, and ultimately a waste of time.
Which is why we hem and haw when our children ask us about matters of faith. We’re put on the spot; our kids are depending on us to guide them along the right path, and we’re not sure how to even describe it to them.
Brothers and sisters, let us therefore resolve to spend some time each day deepening our faith, in prayer and pondering and research. Let us go back to our own beginning of faith formation, the days when we knew nothing, and build ourselves up from there.
Then, perhaps, we can look at our children and say with all sincerity, “I love God with all my heart, and I hope you do too. Here’s why…”
Amen.