June 7--Bl. Franz Jaegerstaetter, Martyr

World War II gave the Church many martyrs, among them St. Maximilian Kolbe, St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (also known as St. Edith Stein), and today's saint, Bl. Franz Jaegerstaetter, an Austrian farmer who refused to fight on behalf of Germany.  Bl. Jaegerstaetter opposed the Anchluss, or annexation, of Austria by Germany.  He was drafted, trained, and then received deferments three times.  However, when he was drafted in 1943 he refused to take a loyalty oath to Hitler, was imprisoned for six months and was then beheaded and cremated on August 9.  His ashes were reburied in 1946 and he was beatified in 2007 by Pope Benedict XVI.

There were Catholics in Germany and Austria who served in the German army.  Bl. Jaegerstaetter's own pastor and bishop also encouraged him to serve if drafted.  He refused, telling his attorney:  “I can only act on my own conscience. I do not judge anyone. I can only judge myself.  I have considered my family. I have prayed and put myself and my family in God’s hands. I know that, if I do what I think God wants me to do, he will take care of my family.”

The Catechism of the Catholic Church guides us with regards to conscience:  "Deep within his conscience man discovers a law which he has not laid upon himself but which he must obey. Its voice, ever calling him to love and to do what is good and to avoid evil, sounds in his heart at the right moment. . . . For man has in his heart a law inscribed by God. . . . His conscience is man's most secret core and his sanctuary. There he is alone with God whose voice echoes in his depths" (1776).  "When he listens to his conscience, the prudent man can hear God speaking" (1777).  We are all called to form and follow our consciences just as Bl. Franz Jaegerstaetter did and let God guide us and give us his grace to do his will.

May 15—St. Isidore the Farmer, Holy Man

What does it mean to be a farmer? It means constant chores, days out in the fields, weeding rows of beans, detasseling corn, caring for animals, watching the sky for rain, haying during the summer’s heat, harvesting past sundown, worrying about prices, and more. But it also means satisfaction for feeding the hungry.

Today’s saint is the patron of farmers.  St. Isidore was a day laborer who would go to Mass first thing in the morning and then head out to the fields, still completing his required chores.  He was married to St. Maria de la Cabeza and together they showed “commitment to family, love for the land, service to the poor and a deep spirituality.”  Their love and piety was simple, yet profound.  They were not theologians nor clergy nor members of a religious order.  St. Isidore was a worker.  St. Maria served in the home.  They lived their daily lives in much the same way as the Holy Family, although their one child died in infancy.

Farmers and workers need to live their faith in their farming and working and family life.  We need to live our faith in our jobs and family life.  We have a myriad of chores, but each can be done with the joy of service.  We have a plethora of problems, but with the grace of God, each can be resolved.  We have relationships that deserve our love and time.  This is what St. Isidore and St. Maria did.  They worked; they lived; they loved.  It is a simple formula, but it fulfills Jesus’ prayer:  “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth, as it is in heaven.”

May 10—St. Damien de Veuster of Molokai, Priest

“Unclean, unclean.”  These words were shouted by those in the Bible who had the disease of leprosy, what is now called Hansen’s Disease.  It is mentioned in the Bible 68 times, 15 in the New Testament and was often thought of as curse from God for sin.  It is a highly infectious disease that affects the nervous system and causes disfigurement.  One of the amazing effects of Hansen’s Disease is that the infected cannot feel pain, leading to lack of awareness of harm caused to the body.

St. Damien of Molokai dedicated his life to serving the leper colony on Molokai in the 19^th century.  The lepers of Molokai were shunned by the rest of society.  St. Damien did what he could to return their sense of God-given dignity by his service.  He persuaded another saint, St. Marianne Cope to bring her sisters to help minister to them.  He buried many of his people, digging their graves himself.  Eventually, he contracted Hansen’s Disease and had to stay as a member of his beloved community.  He also died, and was buried on Molokai, where part of his body remains to this day.

When Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI canonized St. Damien he remarked:  “He invites us to open our eyes to the forms of leprosy that disfigure the humanity of our brethren and still today call for the charity of our presence as servants, beyond that of our generosity."  Who among us is disfigured and shunned?  Is it the homeless, those with mental diseases or syndromes, the unborn, the poor, the marginalized?  We need to hear the unheard cry of “Unclean, unclean” and minister to them.