I’m writing to you live from the North American Martyrs Shrine in Auriesville, N.Y. It’s holy ground where Isaac Jogues and two companion Jesuit priests were brutally killed while serving God and the indigenous people here. Reading some of their testimonies and spiritual writings is a bit overwhelmingly beautiful. It’s also a prompt for me to wonder: How much more are we called to love in these times of anger and violence! Remarkable was the brutality of the culture they encounter. But they loved in that. They were the very opposite of any kind of comparison or caricature of them as conquerors. They were humble sinners who wanted to share the love of God with others, accompanying them and not trying to change everything overnight.
Anyway, that’s all a long way of saying: I’d love if you’d join me in an NRI conversation from here today at 1 p.m. Beth Lynch, the archivist/expert on the Martyrs will be with me on location, and we’ll be Zooming with my friend, former Magnificat editor and popular author and speaker Dominican Fr. Peter John Cameron, O.P., who like all of us is a mad fan (I think that’s what the kids say — in some decade) of these martyrs. There will be some things to say about religious freedom and our time and the Christian call and the value of faith and hope in our present day. You’re ecumenically welcome. Register here. Thank you!