To me, the very least of all the holy ones, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the inscrutable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for all what is the plan of the mystery hidden from ages past in God who created all things, so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the Church to the principalities and authorities in the heavens. (Eph 3:2-12)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/101922.cfm
The grace to preach to the Gentiles . . . that was the mission of the early Jesuit missionaries to North America. Saints John de Brébeuf, Isaac Jogues, and their companion martyrs endured unbelievable hardships in bringing the gospel to the so-called “new world.” And we are the fruit of their labors.
These reflections are a result of more than 40 years of ministry as a Roman Catholic priest. Most of these years I spent in the Diocese of Charlotte which covers Western North Carolina. Now I am retired, and live in Medellín, Colombia where I continue to serve as a priest in the Archdiocese of Medellín.
The North American Martyrs, October 19
