Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life.

 

Scripture readings for this reflection can be found at Optional Memorial of Saint Januarius, Bishop and Martyr | USCCB

Today we commemorate the feast of St. Januarius, bishop and martyr. Many know him better as San Gennaro. Probably most notable here in New York City is the feast down on Mulberry Street in honor of San Gennaro. It goes for several blocks, lasts about 11 days, and celebrates the life of someone we know very little about.

What little we know of him was that he was a bishop martyred in 305 AD during the Great Persecution, and a core part of his veneration involves the miraculous liquefaction of his blood, an event seen as a sign of protection. It was reported that this miracle happened again today. Finally, San Gennaro is considered a patron saint of Naples and is greatly venerated there.

The fact that he was a martyr for the faith tells us a lot about what kind of person he was. He was willing to put his faith in Jesus Christ first in spite of the possibility of being put to death. In our gospel for today we hear Jesus tell us, “Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life.” San Gennaro knew these words well and was able to preserve his life for eternal life and is now an example of what it means to be a Christian.

St. Augustine was able to understand what San Gennaro was facing in being a bishop and eventually a martyr when he said: “The day I became a bishop a burden was laid on my shoulders for which it will be no easy task to render an account.” St. Augustine and San Gennaro took their call as bishops seriously and knew they would be held accountable to the Lord on judgment day.

Most all of us will never rise to the level of being a bishop or face the possibility of being a martyr for the faith. But we are called, like San Gennaro, to follow and serve Jesus Christ as his followers. It isn’t easy and is often considered counter cultural. San Gennaro found this out when he was martyred for his faith in Jesus Christ. Like San Gennaro, all of us are called to keep Jesus as the center of who we are. We are called to love and serve him in how we live and treat others. We are called to love God with our whole mind, heart and soul and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Not an easy thing to do.

Let us pray for our bishops and priests and for each other to be better examples of what it means to be called “Christian.”