Mass of the North American Martyrs

Plank Article The Simons ‘14 & ‘15

Giving thanks to the patron saints of our school, Jesuit celebrates the feast day of the Martyrs of North America. On this day, we are all given the chance to celebrate in a time that calls for complete courage, so that we may further spread the word of God, just as the eight famous Frenchmen had done.

During the homily, presider Fr. Olsen went on to elaborate about our obligation to respond to God’s calling for us to make a difference in this dark and lost world. In working through us, God helps us to realize the imperfections of this life, and to act upon them in an effort to further improve society through means of love. This way of acting is accomplished through service.  In serving others, we are not only helping others out of pure unconditional love, but are also further realizing the greater purpose of life in the process of becoming a fuller person in Christ. Through service, we act in the strongest form of pure goodness in its self, and it is through pure goodness that we further understand the greater purpose of our lives. For this reason, we must always be ready and willing to answer the callfor change in response to the problems that are made clear to us. The North American Martyrs acted in this way until the point of death.

The Martyrs of North America are: Saint Rene Goupil, Saint Isaac Jogues, Saint John de La Lande, Saint Anthony Daniel, Saint John de Brebeuf, Saint Charles Garnier, Saint Noel Chabanel, and Saint Gabriel Lalemant.