From the Pastor’s Desk:

On Tuesday June 1st we celebrated Justin Martyr. He was one of the early Church’s first apologists. In reading about St. Justin’s life, we find a seeker of knowledge. He was always asking questions and seeking deeper knowledge. His was an interesting journey, finding his way to the Eucharistic Table of the Lord through studying Stoicism, Peripatetism, Pythagoreanism and Platonism.

In Christianity Justin said he found the philosophy that satisfied his soul. Not only a Christian, but as an itinerant teacher, he found his way to Rome. Justin’s passion for philosophy and reason led him to call for a reasoned study and hearing for Christianity in the court system of pagan Rome.

To the emperor, Antoninus Pius, he made a serious charge: “you do not examine the charges made against us; but, yielding to unreasoning passion, and to the instigation of evil demons, you punish us without consideration or judgment.” Rather, he proclaimed, “Justice requires that you inquire into the life both of him who confesses and of him who denies, that by his deeds it may be apparent what kind of man each is”.

Justin’s claim was that a man should be respected for the value he brings to the society around him, whether he was a pagan or a Christian. With this as his starting point, Justin argued for the social value of Christians and Christianity. He made the point that Christian morality stood as a sign of contradiction against the Roman culture of selfishness, domination and sexual excess. Justin’s teaching on a number of moral topics made him an enemy to some. His strong defense of the truth and value of Christian morality ultimately sealed his fate. He was scourged and beheaded for refusing to worship the Roman gods and goddesses.

As we celebrate Corpus Christi this weekend, we can read Justin’s writings on the Mass and his defense of the Eucharistic Meal, important since the Roman courts saw the Eucharist as cannibalism. They were not studying the theology of the Mass, only the literal interpretation.