In the middle of the 17th century, the first Jesuits came to what is today the United States and Canada. This weekend marks the anniversary of the martyrdom of 8 of these missionaries, known as the North American Martyrs or the Canadian Martyrs. Led by St. Isaac Jogues, and St. John de Brebeuf, they died for the faith from 1642-1649 in what is now Ontario and upstate New York. Today’s homily considers some of the incredible details of the lives of these early missionaries.
As much as we ought to be impressed by the courage of these martyrs, it is more important that we look at their faith. In today’s more secular culture, it can be hard to understand the religious motivation of these men. To a modern society focused on riches and weak in faith, we assume that the primary motivation for travel to America must have been wealth or conquest. It was quite the opposite for the missionaries. Faith was their great treasure and their only conquest was for souls.
The missionaries, and indeed the whole Church, knew and took seriously the need for baptism and belief in the Jesus. The real motivation for travel to the “New World” for so many was the desire to spread the faith. They knew that faith in Jesus was necessary for salvation. They were therefore ready to risk even their own lives so that these newly encountered peoples in America might have eternal life. This is the opposite of selfishness and is in fact a great work of charity.
The question for us today is then “Do we have this kind of faith?” It seems that too often we have deceived ourselves with thought that “Probably everyone goes to heaven.” We are content to sit back in comfort and trust that “Somehow God will save everyone unknowingly.” Such reasoning was unthinkable to Isaac Jogues and his companions. They knew that spreading the gospel was life and death work, for their own lives surely, but more importantly, for the eternal life of others.
As we honor the North American Martyrs this weekend and all missionaries, let’s be grateful. It has become popular in culture today to bash the coming of the Christian faith to America. Resist this erroneous defamation of our missionary ancestors. More importantly, ask yourself if you still believe what they believed or have you let the faith get watered down. As Jesus puts it plainly in the gospel today, “When the son of man comes, will he find faith on earth?” If he does, it will be thanks to missionaries. Resolve today to go out and be a missionary disciple of Jesus.