Feast of Saint John Chrysostom

Good morning. In today’s Gospel Jesus out of compassion raises from death the son of the widow woman in the town of Nain. The miracles Jesus performed certainly caught the attention of many in His day and often great crowds would come out to see this miracle worker from Nazareth. People wanted to see first hand the wonders he performed. Our Saint whose life we commemorate today, Saint John Chrysostom likewise was noted for attracting great crowds for he was known to be quite a wonderful preacher, known for fervor and eloquence. Yet despite this, both were much more. Jesus was more than a miracle worker. John Chrysostom was more than an eloquent speaker. Both challenge us to be more than the gifts God has given us. We are all called in our daily lives to give our gifts away, in the words of Blessed John Paul II, in his Apostolic Letter Dies Domini to put into practice our gifts—“to truly put the Eucharist into practice in (our) daily life.” The love and fidelity we come to know in the Eucharist is likewise given witness in the sacrament of marriage. As married couples we have the opportunity to give witness to the same love and fidelity which Jesus gives His church. In the words of Saint John Chrysostom: “young husbands should say to their wives: I have taken you in my arms, and I love you, and I prefer you to my life itself. For the present life is nothing, and my most ardent dream is to spend it with you in such a way that we may be assured of not being separated in the life reserved for us. . . I place your love above all things, and nothing would be more bitter or painful to me than to be of a different mind than you.” How does our marriage reflect the love and fidelity we find in the Eucharist? Make a great day!

Today we recall the good life, gifts, and works of Saint John Chrysostom. “Do you wish to honour the body of Christ? Do not ignore him when he is naked. Do not pay him homage in the temple clad in silk only then to neglect him outside where he suffers cold and nakedness. He who said: ‘This is my body’ is the same One who said: ‘You saw me hungry and you gave me no food’, and ‘Whatever you did to the least of my brothers you did also to me’ … What good is it if the Eucharistic table is overloaded with golden chalices, when he is dying of hunger? Start by satisfying his hunger, and then with what is left you may adorn the altar as well.”