Nov 12 – Memorial for St. Josaphat, bishop, religious, martyr
John (1580-1623) had a father who was a municipal counsellor, and a mother who was known for her piety. He was raised in the Orthodox Ruthenian Church which, on 23 Nov 1595, in the Union of Brest, united with the Church of Rome. He was trained as a merchant’s apprentice in Vilna, and was offered partnership in the business and marriage to his partner’s daughter.
Feeling the call to religious life, he declined both and became a monk in the Ukrainian Order of St. Basil in Vilna at the age of 20 in 1604, taking the name Brother Josaphat. He was ordained a Byzantine rite priest in 1609.
His superior, Samuel, never accepted unity with Rome, and looked for a way to fight against Roman Catholicism and the Uniats, the name given to those who brought about and accepted the union of the churches. Learning of Samuel’s work and fearing the physical and spiritual damage it could cause, Josaphat brought it to the attention of his superiors. The archbishop of Kiev removed Samuel from his post, replacing him with Josaphat.
He was a famous preacher, worked to bring unity among the faithful and bring strayed Christians back to the Church. He became Bishop of Vitebsk. Most religious, fearing interference with the natively developed liturgy and customs, did not want union with Rome. Bishop Josaphat believed unity to be in the best interests of the Church and, by teaching, clerical reform, and personal example, Josaphat won the greater part of the Orthodox in Lithuania to the union. Never completely suitable to either side, Roman authorities sometimes raised objection to Josaphat’s Orthodox actions. He became Archbishop of Polotsk, Lithuania in 1617.
While Josaphat attended the Diet of Warsaw in 1620, a dissident group supported by Cossacks set up anti-Uniat bishops for each Uniat one, spread the accusation that Josaphat had ‘gone Latin’ and that his followers would be forced to do the same, and place an usurper on the archbishop’s chair. Despite warnings, Josaphat went to Vitebsk, a hotbed of trouble, to try to correct the misunderstandings and settle disturbances. The army remained loyal to the king who remained loyal to the Union, and so the army tried to protect Josaphat and his clergy.
Late in 1623, an anti-Uniat priest named Elias shouted insults at Josaphat from his own courtyard, and tried to force his way into the residence. When he was removed, a mob assembled and forced his release. Mob mentality took over, and they invaded the residence. Josaphat tried to insure the safety of his servants before fleeing himself, but did not get out in time, and was martyred by the mob. His death was a shock to both sides of the dispute, brought some sanity and a cooling off period to both sides of the conflict.
“You people of Vitebsk want to put me to death. You make ambushes for me everywhere, in the streets, on the bridges, on the highways, and in the marketplace. I am here among you as a shepherd, and you ought to know that I would be happy to give my life for you. I am ready to die for the holy union, for the supremacy of Saint Peter, and of his successor the Supreme Pontiff.” – St. Josaphat
- Patron Saint Index
Eph 4:1-7,11-13
Jn 17:20-26
Bear with one another charitably, in complete selflessness, gentleness and patience.
There are some individuals who exist on earth to test our patience. It could be the colleagues who often exhibit behaviour which irritates us, or even someone in our immediate or extended family who makes remarks constantly, to hurt our feelings. Perhaps it is not easy to bear with this person and we often lose our cool and grow to become very upset with the other party, and with ourselves.
Whenever I encounter such a feeling, I often take it to God in prayer. In particular, I am drawn to the words of Jesus in the Gospel to continue to make God’s name known to the people all around. This means that I need to keep calm, not engage in idle talk, and seek the counsel and guidance of others to show me how to make sense of why this person is testing me.
However, there needs to be a thin line between being patient and not suffering physical and emotional harm. This is important for all of us, because whilst we need to offer our struggles to God, we cannot do so at the expense of our own health and safety. As we go about our daily lives, may we remember to commit to Jesus all the struggles we face in our lives, and to bear with them patiently.
(Today’s OXYGEN by Nicholas Chia)
Prayer: Jesus, we ask you for gift of patience to deal with our struggles.
Thanksgiving: Thank you Lord, for the friends and family we have in our lives.
OXYGEN 
Leave a comment