Homily: September 12, 2025, Friday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time(Ignorance)

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 “I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and an arrogant man, but I have been mercifully treated because I acted out of ignorance in my unbelief.”

St. Paul, after his conversion, admitted that all the persecution and executions he carried out before he knew Christ, were done out of ignorance and unbelief. He thought Jesus Christ and His followers were a threat to the Jewish community, he thought Jesus was a fake, and so for the good of the Jewish people, he sought to eliminate them. Paul persecuted Christians because of he did not believe that Jesus was truly the Christ, the Messiah.

Jesus Himself was unjustly accused, tortured, and killed although He was spreading His Father’s love to the world because the authorities misunderstood Him and saw Him as a threat to their society and community. Thousands of early Christians were martyred for similar reasons. They held on to their faith, they did not budge when told to deny the Lord, they did not water down the Lord’s teachings under pressure or threat of life. They stood firm, fearless and passionate, for what they believed.

History shows that the same fate of persecution awaits whoever preaches the truth of the Gospel boldly. Even today, it is said that at least 13 people are killed each day around the world because of their faith in Jesus. Jesus warned us: “The world will hate you, but know that it hated me first.”

If the world likes us, then perhaps we are not preaching the Truth.

The world cannot accept Christ fully, because His Gospel of love and life is radical and requires self-denial and sacrifice, something which the world rejects and avoids. Anyone who speaks boldly about Jesus will thus face opposition from those who agrees with the worldly values.

A true Christian walks the same path as his Master, Jesus Christ, and must be ready to be opposed and persecuted by the world.

The ignorance of Christ and Christianity today is still prevalent. Many people, especially among the younger generations blindly follow worldly ideologies. They are misled, out of ignorance, and without understanding, they attack the Church, its preachers, its institutions, and anyone who speaks for the church.

We need to pray harder, that like St. Paul, many of these people may one day have a profound conversion and come to know the truth. And let us also pray for the courage to remain faithful to Christ, even in the face of opposition.

Amen.


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