Cowardice and St. Stanislaus

 

“Cowardice” a Homily for the Memorial of St. Stanislaus, Bishop and Martyr

 

I was blessed to give a witness talk and have the Mass yesterday at a local senior retreat.  I then enjoyed lunch with the seniors and the retreat chaperones.  While in line, someone took the Lord’s name in vain.  I am not sure if it was a chaperone or a student, but I know other people heard it, and that other people knew I heard it, and other people saw that I didn’t do anything to correct it.

 

Today the Church remembers St. Stanislaus, who was a bishop in Poland martyred by a King that St. Stanislaus stood up to.  The reading in the Breviary today for St. Stanislaus is from Saint Cyprian, and his letter ends in this way “The soldier of Christ, trained by Christ’s commands and instructions, does not begin to panic at the thought of battle, but is ready for the crown of victory.”

 

As I was reading that this morning, I was convicted that St. Stanislaus stood up to a king, and I didn’t correct a person out of fear.  I resolved, this morning in the confessional, to go back to the retreat and apologize to anyone who heard this person take the Lord’s name in vain and also saw me not do anything to correct him.

 

I love the Catholic Church for so many reasons, and one of the reasons I love the Catholic Church is that the Church sees EVERY action of ours to have eternal repercussions, NOTHING is insignificant…and so I sinned in not correcting the person, and I sinned by the scandal I caused…and so I am going to confess that sin but also make reparations for my sins and go and apologize, and hopefully, in doing that, the next time something like this happens, and I will have the courage to correct a person out of love.  Amen.