Men of Courage

Two valiant and courageous pastors and soldiers who serve as models for our life of faith, provide  the wheat for today's daily slice of bread.  St, Ignatius of Antioch, third bishop of Antioch, friend of St. Polycarp and disciple of St. John the Evangelist, spoke eloquently of his faith before the Emperor Trajan, who despite being impressed with the eloquence of Ignatius, ordered him to be put in chains and taken to Rome to be fed to the beasts for the entertainment of the populace.  The arduous journey was the occasion of pain and trials, but also the opportunity to evanglize the crowds who met him along the way.  It is said that before dying he exclaimed, "I am the wheat of Christ, ground by the teeth of beasts to become pure bread."
In our own day, Father Francis L. Sampson, a native of Iowa, spent most of his priesthood as a military chaplain.  He parachuted as part of Operation Overlord before the D-Day landing, and tended to the wounded after the invasion had begun.  He was saved from death when a German officer halted men who were about to shoot him and allowed him to continue to minister to the physical spiritual needs of the soldiers.  He was eventually captured and sent as a prisoner of war to one of the prison camps in Germany where again, he continued his priestly ministry.  He left the armed forces for a short time when the war ended, but re-enlisted during the Korean War,  parachuting to serve the men on the ground.  In 1967, he was appointed chief of Army Chaplains as a major general, and upon retirment, served as head of the USO.  During the Viet-nam War, he spent Christmas with the troops and visited hospitals.  He died in 1996 and was accorded the Military Service Cross and the Distinguished Service Medal.
These men lived what St. Paul wrote to the Romans:  "I urge you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God your spiritual worship.,  Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind..."(Rm 12: 1).  Lord, when I think I can't, help me to remember what these men did."
Bro. Rene