The Soul-Snatcher
‘May awaken in His Church that spirit which filled the blessed martyr and bishop Josaphat, who gave his life for his sheep.’ – Office of St. Josaphat
The following homily was preached to the student brothers during Compline. You can listen here or read below:
Reading: Luke 17:20-25
What thoughts come to mind first when I say the phrase ‘the soul snatcher’? It sounds a bit ominous, does it not? Perhaps am I referencing any of the three horror films released under that name? But in this case, I am referring to the nickname St. Josaphat had, whose feast we are celebrating today.
St. Josephat, a monk and bishop, strove to unify the Christians of his native land, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. He was given the nickname ‘the soul snatcher’ by his opponents for his success in bringing a great multitude of people into full communion with Rome.
He expected to be martyred, and a few days before his martyrdom he prayed: “Lord, grant me the grace to shed my blood for the unity of the church and in behalf of obedience to the Holy See” (Ecclesiam Dei). He was brutally martyred at the age of 43 by a mob, and like our own St. Peter Martyr O.P., St. Josephat received an axe blow to his head.
St. Josephat knew his time to bear the ultimate witness to Christ and his Church was coming and prepared himself for it. In today’s gospel, we heard how the Pharisees questioned Our Lord about the coming of the Kingdom, while He was on His way to Jerusalem. He had made it clear to His disciples that His death awaited Him in Jerusalem. Pharisees might become impatient waiting for the coming Kingdom. They were willfully blind to what was going on around them. “The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them” (Luke 7:22). Our Lord had already declared that the “kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17, c.f. Luke 10:9), yet they did not understand. So Jesus stated it plainly to them “the kingdom of God is in the midst of you” (Luke 17:21).
As St. Paul proclaimed: “Behold, now is the favourable time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2). There can no longer be any excuse for me to delay picking up my cross and following Him! St Josephat did not wait for a more favourable time to start preaching the Gospel by word and deed. So as we approach the end of this liturgical year, let us with ever greater fervour strive to follow Christ each day, wherever He may lead.
Image: Aleksander Tarasowicz, Iosaphat Martyr (Image credit: Wikimedia Commons).
