Brief Background:

Saints John de Brébeuf and Isaac Jogues were French Jesuit missionaries who traveled to North America during the 1600s to evangelize Indigenous peoples, particularly the Huron (Wendat) and Mohawk communities.

Saint John de Brébeuf (1593–1649) dedicated his life to missionary work among the Huron people. He learned their language, studied their culture, and endured tremendous hardships. He was captured, tortured, and killed in 1649.

Saint Isaac Jogues (1607–1646) was captured and tortured while serving as a missionary. After escaping to France, he voluntarily returned to North America to continue his mission, knowing the dangers involved. He was killed in 1646.

Together with six other Jesuit missionaries, they are known as the North American Martyrs, canonized by Pope Pius XI in 1930.

Patron Saints of:

• Saint John de Brébeuf: Canada, particularly associated with its missionaries.
• Saint Isaac Jogues: North America and Catholic missionaries.
• North American Martyrs: Missionaries and evangelization in North America.

Their lives remind us that holiness is not about seeking comfort or security, but about faithfully following Christ, even when it requires great sacrifice.

REFLECTION:

Today's readings remind me of a thought from the Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard. In his spiritual book entitled Purity of Heart Is to Will One Thing, his message can be summed up this way: "To be a saint is to will the one thing." And what is that one thing? God. To know God, to love God, and to do His will.

Now, that sounds simple, doesn't it? Just one thing! But if we're honest with ourselves, we spend most of our lives wanting so many things! We want to be successful. We want financial security. We want a comfortable life. We want good health. We want our families to be happy. We want a nice house, a nice car, and of course, we want to go to heaven! And there's nothing wrong with wanting these things. But Kierkegaard challenges us to ask ourselves, among all the things we want in life, what is the one thing we want above everything else?

And that's exactly what Jesus is challenging in today's Gospel.

Jesus tells us about a rich man who had an abundant harvest. He had so much that he didn't know where to store everything. So what does he decide to do? Build bigger barns! And then he tells himself, now I can relax, eat, drink, and enjoy life! But God says to him, "You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you." You see, the problem wasn't that the man was wealthy or successful. The problem was that he had made his wealth the center of his life.

He had so many things, but he had forgotten the One who gave him everything.

And isn't that sometimes our struggle as well? We become so busy chasing after the things we want that we forget the One who gives meaning to everything we have.

In our first reading, Saint Paul reminds us that we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for good works. In other words, our lives have a purpose beyond ourselves. We were created not simply to accumulate things, but to know God, love God, and serve God through the lives we have been given.

And today we remember Saints John de Brébeuf and Isaac Jogues, Jesuit missionaries who gave their lives bringing the Gospel to others. Saint Isaac Jogues was captured, tortured, and eventually escaped back to France. He could have stayed there, safe and comfortable. But he chose to return to North America, knowing the dangers that awaited him.

Why? Because he knew what mattered most. His life was centered on Christ. And that's what it means to will the one thing.

Friends, we all have responsibilities, dreams, and goals. We have families to care for, jobs to do, bills to pay, and plans for the future. But the question is, what gives meaning and direction to all those things?

Is God simply one more thing on our list of priorities? Or is God the One who gives purpose to everything else?

Because to will the one thing doesn't mean abandoning everything else. It means allowing God to be at the center of everything we do.

And so, let us return to Kierkegaard's thought: "To be a saint is to will the one thing."



The rich man in today's Gospel had everything he wanted, but he lost sight of the One who mattered most. The saints we celebrate today were willing to lose everything because they had found the One who mattered most. And perhaps that's the challenge for us today. To be a saint is not to want only one thing in life. It is to want God above all things, and to allow that one desire to guide everything else.