12 November 2018
Memorial of Saint Josaphat, Bishop and Martyr
Today is the feast of St. Josaphat, the first saint of the Eastern Church to be canonized by Rome. John Kunsevich—who took the name Josaphat in religious life— dedicated his life, and eventually died for the reunification of the Eastern Church and Rome. Born in modern day Ukraine, he became a Basilian monk, then a priest, and soon was well known as a preacher. He became bishop of Vitebsk at a relatively young age and faced the daunting task of bringing the local populace to accept union with Rome (especially after the Ruthenian Orthodox Church (Kiev Metropolitanate) confirmed its communion with the Roman Catholic Church). On the one hand, he faced stiff opposition from the monks, who feared liturgical Latinisation of the Byzantine Rite. For the monks, Jospahat had “gone Latin,” and the Latin bishops of Poland did not extend any enthusiastic support to him either. He was killed by an angry mob on November 12, 1623 in Vitebsk (now in modern day Belarus). Josaphat’s death brought about a movement toward the unity between the Roman Catholic and Eastern Church.
Unity in diversity is indeed the most daunting task for humanity, including the life of the Church. Before we speak about unity with the Eastern Church, we, as the Roman Catholic Church must address the divisions amongst ourselves. Not very long ago, in this country, Irish Catholics and Italians Catholics shared a mutual antipathy, and often outright hostility. The Italians were unimpressed by the seemingly cold and austere faith of the Irish. The Irish persistently shunned Italians for their loud shows of faith as well as by their unfamiliar religious practices. The Poles and the Irish did not get along any better. In 21st century America, the demographic has shifted and the Asians & Hispanics have become a new cluster of immigrants in the Catholic Church that might be considered second class citizens.
In the Gospel reading today, Jesus calls us to “Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.” A different translation indicates that Jesus’s word is “pay attention to yourselves.” Jesus warns us to avoid the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. Our behavior must be consistent with our convictions. Perhaps it’s time for us to pay attention to how our behavior is consistent with our convictions about the unity within the Church. Do we believe in a truly Catholic Church that includes people with different ethnic or cultural backgrounds?