Daily Gospel Reflection
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September 20, 2021
Jesus said to the crowd:
“No one who lights a lamp conceals it with a vessel
or sets it under a bed;
rather, he places it on a lampstand
so that those who enter may see the light.
For there is nothing hidden that will not become visible,
and nothing secret that will not be known and come to light.
Take care, then, how you hear.
To anyone who has, more will be given,
and from the one who has not,
even what he seems to have will be taken away.”
Reflection
Halos around the head of a saint in Catholic art are a common sight. They let us know that the individual being depicted is special. A holy person of God is illumined by the light of Christ. As with the burning bush seen by Moses, the light of God does not destroy. Instead, the radiance when one lives in God’s glory provides a greater sense of being whole and complete. God has no intention to consume but rather allows disciples to light up the world with truth, beauty, and goodness.
Our gospel passage today encourages us to be like the saints, to use our gifts and talents to help light up the world. Our lives are of God and for God, and when we live according to God’s will for us, we become visible, and others can see our light.
As a husband, father, and educator, I remind myself daily that I am living out these vocations best when I am committed to giving. Most often, my light shines in the gift of my time, whether it be sharing conversation over a cup of coffee, sitting on the family room floor to play a game, or listening to the anxious concerns of a homesick student.
Halos do not fit under beds or lamps, particularly those that reflect the greatest moment of Christian witness. Today we celebrate the martyrdom of Saints Andrew Kim Tae-gŏn, Paul Chŏng Ha-sang, and companions, and thanks be to God for their witness. May each of us respond to our call with such courage and light.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, in baptism you enkindled in our hearts the light of Jesus Christ, your Son. Inflame that light in our lives that it may illumine all that we see, think, and do. May our lives shine brightly with your light, that we may bring its radiance into the lives of all we encounter. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Saint of the Day
St. Andrew Kim Tae-gon is the first native-born Korean priest, and is patron saint of Korea. He was martyred with nearly 10,000 other Koreans, mostly lay people, before Christianity was tolerated in Korea in 1884. Today, we venerate nearly 100 of these Koreans who have been declared saints, including Andrew and a layman, Paul Chong Hasang.
The first Christians in Korea were baptized by invading Japanese soldiers in the late 1500s. The faith slowly grew, and then in 1777, several Christian texts made their way to Korea and converted some scholars. When a missionary priest visited the country more than a decade later, he found 4,000 Christians living without the sacraments. They had never seen a priest before.
The Korean monarchy feared Christianity as a colonizing force and repressed it with several violent persecutions between 1791 and 1866. Andrew’s parents were converts to the faith, and his father, grandfather, and several uncles were executed for it. Andrew’s mother was left destitute and had to rely on begging for survival.
Andrew was baptized at the age of 15, and soon after left for Macao, China—1,200 miles away—to enter a seminary there. After further missionary work, he was ordained a priest and returned to Korea to minister and evangelize. Two years later, at the age of 25, he was captured as he made his way along the Korean shoreline to find safe and secret passages for other missionaries. He was tortured and beheaded on September 26, 1846.
Before he was killed, Andrew wrote his fellow Christians: “We have received baptism, entrance into the Church, and the honor of being called Christians. Yet what good will this do us if we are Christians in name only and not in fact?”
Paul Chong Hasang was also the son of converts to Christianity. He was born in 1795, and though several members of his family were also martyred, he also sought the faith. He took a job serving a government interpreter, which allowed him to travel to Beijing. There, he asked the bishop to establish a diocese in Korea and send priests, which happened in 1825.
As a lay leader and married man, Paul was a unifying figure for Christians and advocated for them to the Korean government. When another persecution broke out, he was arrested and tried. He gave a written statement to the judge, who read it and said, "You are right in what you have written; but the king forbids this religion, it is your duty to renounce it." Paul replied, "I have told you that I am a Christian, and will be one until my death." He was tortured, then placed on a cross and died. His mother, Cecelia Yu Sosa, was also martyred that same year from injuries following repeated whippings.
When he visited Korea in 1984, Pope St. John Paul II canonized Andrew and Paul, along with 98 other Koreans and three French missionary priests. Of the group, 47 were lay women and 45 were lay men.
St. Andrew Kim Taegon, Paul Chong Hasang, and the martyrs who died for the faith in Korea, pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of Sts. Andrew Kim Tae-gŏn, Paul Chŏng Ha-sang, and Companions is available for use under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication. Last accessed April 2, 2025 on Wikimedia Commons.
