Homily Feast of Peter Chanel (2021)
Homily Feast of Peter Chanel (2021)
In the 18th and 19th Century many missionaries went into the world from Europe. We can think of the Jesuits who came to this part of the world, men like Marquette and Joliet. Missionaries went to Africa, Asia, North America, South America and the destination that was farthest away was Oceana.
The missionaries who went out to preach the gospel never expected to return home. In fact, their funeral Mass would be celebrated before they left. Many countries have cemeteries full of missionaries. Most lived only a few months or years before they succumbed to disease or were killed.
Peter Chanel, whose funeral we celebrate today, was one of these dedicated missionaries. He was born in France and decided to be a priest at a young age. He was a young energetic diocesan priest and did great work in his first parish. But he longed to be a missionary. He joined the Society of Mary so that he could do this work.
He was sent to Oceana which was on the other side of the world. It took him ten months to get there. He and a lay brother went to the Island of Futuna. At first, he was well received, but the king of the area became jealous of his influence. The king was the religious leader as well as the civil ruler.
When the king’s son converted to Christianity his anger boiled over. He dispatched some of his subjects to execute Peter. He was clubbed to death. He died in 1841 at 38 years old. His mission was a success. Within a few years the whole island was converted to Christianity. The blood of a martyr led to a conversion of a whole people. St. Peter would have said that his sacrifice was worth it.
Reflection Questions:
- What motivated the missionaries to give up their lives to spread the faith? Is that something I might do?
- How comfortable would I be moving into a strange place with a different language, diet and culture? We have been isolated a lot the last year. Does that give us a taste of what St. Peter experienced?
Dear Parishioner,
We had a roofer come and inspect the guttering system on the east side of the church. Fortunately, we did not have to bring in a lift to do the inspection. It is nice to have a church with vaulted ceilings. It makes us raise our hearts and minds to God, but it makes maintenance a challenge.
The inspection showed a lot of damage. Downspouts are split. Copper gutters have been pulled away from the roof. The ice and snow this winter really were hard on things. This explains why we have leaking issues in the church.
We hope to start repairs on these problems as soon as possible. We have leaking now when there is just moderate rainfall. Once we get the leaking stopped, we will turn to repairing the inside.
Thanks to all who support us financially so we can make these repairs.
May Our Lady and all the Angels and Saints watch over you today.
Fr. Mark