The Good Word

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Josephine Margaret Bakhita was declared a saint in 2000. She was the first Black woman to receive this honor in modern times. Josephine was born in Darfur, in western Sudan. The year was 1869 and her happy family of three brothers and three sisters and the parents who loved them was about to be impacted by the evil of slavery. Josephine’s sister was abducted in 1875. Josephine suffered a similar fate two years later. Josephine was made to walk 600 miles to another city in the Sudan where she was sold and forcibly converted to Islam. She was sold five more times, with her last “owner” holding the position of a General in the Turkish army. She writes of that time, “I do not recall a day that passed without some wound or other. When a wound from the whip began to heal, other blows would pour on me.”In addition to the beatings, Josephine was intentionally scarred and and tattooed. With her mistress watching with a whip in her hand, a dish of white flour, a dish of salt, and a razor were brought by other women. They drew patterns on Josephine’s skin with the white flour, then they cut deeply into her skin along the lines drawn. The wounds were filled with salt to prevent healing and ensure permanent scarring. A total of 114 intricate patterns were cut into her breasts, stomach, and arm. Her second to the last owner was a Italian diplomat who did not beat her. When he returned to Italy in 1885, Josephine was allowed to go with him. Josephine was given to another family where she became a nanny for their one year old daughter. When her new owners left the country to travel back to Sudan, Josephine was left behind in a Catholic convent run by the Canossian religious sisters, founded by St. Magdalene of Canossa in 1828. This was Josephine’s first contact with the Christian faith. Through the sisters’ instruction, Josephine wrote, “Those holy mothers instructed me with heroic patience and introduced me to that God who from childhood I had felt in my heart without knowing who he was.”Josephine was allowed to stay in Italy. She was given her freedom and chose to stay with the sisters. She became well known in the area around Venice for her special charisma and for a reputation of sanctity. However, it was after the publication of her life story that Josephine’s popularity spread throughout Italy. People just wanted to be near her. They felt God’s presence and protection. While bombs fell throughout the town where she lived during World War II, there was not a single casualty.Even as her health faded, Josephine did not lose her cheerfulness. In extreme pain during her last hours, she would smile and say, “As the Master desires.” She died on a Saturday, February 8, 1947. Knowing it was a day that honored the Mother of God, her last audible words were, “Our Lady…our Lady.” St. Josephine Bakhita has been adopted by the people of Sudan as their patron. She is also the patron saint of human trafficking survivors. While human trafficking is still a threat in our world, everyone can benefit by Josephine’s intercession to overcome whatever is stifling our growth in God. Her story manifests the power of transformation through suffering. St. Josephine Bakhita, pray for us. Blessings,Fr. Kevin MacDonald, C.Ss.R.

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Friday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time IJanuary 20, 2023Hello and welcome to the Word, bringing you the Good News of Jesus Christ every day from the Redemptorists of the Baltimore Province. I am Fr. Karl Esker from the Basilica of our Lady of Perpetual Help in Brooklyn, NY. Today is Friday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time.A reading today is taken from the holy gospel according to MarkJesus went up the mountain and summoned those whom he wanted and they came to him. He appointed Twelve, whom he also named Apostles, that they might be with him and he might send them forth to preach and to have authority to drive out demons: He appointed the Twelve: Simon, whom he named Peter; James, son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James, whom he named Boanerges, that is, sons of thunder; Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus; Thaddeus, Simon the Cananean, and Judas Iscariot who betrayed him.The gospel of the Lord.HomilyIn the today’s gospel reading Mark tells how Jesus chose the Twelve Apostles. They must have felt special to be singled out by Jesus; but as each one looked around, they were a pretty motley crew. About half were fishermen, one was a tax collector and we really don’t know the occupations of many of them. There wasn’t a single civil or religious leader among them. But these were the ones Jesus chose to send out to preach the coming of the kingdom of God, drive out demons and heal the sick.I suspect they had no idea of what they were getting themselves into. They had heard Jesus’ preaching and teaching; they had seen his miracles of curing and freeing from evil; but they had also witnessed the growing opposition of the religious leaders to Jesus’ interpretation of being faithful to God. And they shared their countrymen’s ideas about establishing God’s kingdom here on earth. They had to wonder how Jesus was going to bring this about in the face of growing opposition, but they had come to place their faith in Jesus and wanted to be part of his mission.The fact that Jesus chose Twelve Apostles was a sign that he was reestablishing the People of God by referencing the Twelve Tribes of Israel. This reference is made explicit in the gospels of Matthew and Luke where Jesus tells the apostles that when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, they will sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. At the time they did not understand that while the Kingdom of God was in the world it was not of the world. Still, with the exception of Judas, who betrayed Jesus, all the apostles would remain faithful, and after experiencing Jesus’ death, resurrection and ascension, and after receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit, they would spread the gospel and build communities of believers throughout the known world.The author of the letter to the Hebrews takes pains to explain that God’s promise through the prophet Jeremiah: “I will put my laws in their minds and I will write them upon their hearts. I will be their God, and they shall be my people,” had come true in Jesus. No longer would people have to follow all the precepts and customs of the Mosaic law to become the People of God, they would only have to unite themselves to Christ Jesus through faith and baptism and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.Today, we who have been baptized are called to live this new covenant relationship with Jesus and with one another. Through Confirmation we have received the gift of the Spirit and are sent to take Jesus’ teaching, healing and freedom from evil into the world. Although the teaching of Jesus does not change, cultures and customs do change, and the Kingdom of God must be proclaimed in new ways. This can bring about conflict, because of different visions. Jesus did not choose sides in the culture wars of his day, but called all to a radical living of God’s love and mercy. If we are true disciples of Jesus, we cannot respond to new situations with the customs of the past, but like the apostles we need to learn from Jesus the essentials of our covenant relationship with God and relate to one another as brothers and sisters in Christ. May God bless you.Fr. Karl E. Esker CSsRBasilica of our Lady of Perpetual HelpBrooklyn, NY

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