THE WORD AND THE SAINT
February 4, 2021: St. John de Britto: The Red Sand MartyrHebrews 12: 18-19,21-24; Mark 6: 7-13
John de Britto, a Jesuit Missionary, who formed part of the famous Madurai Mission, arrived in India in 1673 and was imprisoned in 1684 and deported back to Lisbon, Portugal in 1687. However he came back to India in 1690 and was killed in 1693!
An information to those not from India or South India: the place where John de Britto (Arulanandar) was killed, situated in the diocese of Sivagangai, is called Oriyur! The sand in the particular field where he was allegedly killed, has a texture totally red, so strange to the terrain around! It is considered a miraculous phenomenon and is seen and experienced even today!
A challenge to those from India, especially South India: The feast of John de Britto does not only bring to our mind the wonderful gift that we have received from the Lord through missionaries such as these, it also brings to mind the bitter memories of things that have taken place in the region in the past decade. There is no need to narrate them here or delve deep into them, as the local faithful know it well: the challenge that is very clear - A Church that is divided on the lines of caste, cannot be truly CHRISTIAN. Any number of reasons can never justify dividing a church on those grounds or having internal fights on the basis of caste or clan!
The Word instructs us on similar lines. When the Lord tell his disciples and apostles, not to take anything with them, he means it. Not to take the baggages of the background, the race, the colour, the caste, the clan, the tribe, the status, the symbols...nothing to be taken! All that matters is the Reign...which as the letter to the Hebrews explains, "is nothing known to the senses." Every Christian is called and challenged to uphold this grandiose mystery of the Reign...but the question is : Are we truly Christian?