Gospel 1-26-24. Matt 10:26-32. St Polycarp. Bishop, Martyr.

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Therefore fear them not. For nothing is covered that shall not be revealed: nor hid, that shall not be known.
Ne ergo timueritis eos. Nihil enim est opertum, quod non revelabitur : et occultum, quod non scietur.
⁠ 27 ⁠That which I tell you in the dark, speak ye in the light: and that which you hear in the ear, preach ye upon the housetops.
Quod dico vobis in tenebris, dicite in lumine : et quod in aure auditis, praedicate super tecta.
⁠ 28 ⁠And fear ye not them that kill the body, and are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him that can destroy both soul and body in hell.
Et nolite timere eos qui occidunt corpus, animam autem non possunt occidere : sed potius timete eum, qui potest et animam et corpus perdere in gehennam.
⁠ 29 ⁠Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and not one of them shall fall on the ground without your Father.
Nonne duo passeres asse veneunt? et unus ex illis non cadet super terram sine Patre vestro.
⁠ 30 ⁠But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
Vestri autem capilli capitis omnes numerati sunt.
⁠ 31 ⁠Fear not therefore: better are you than many sparrows.
Nolite ergo timere : multis passeribus meliores estis vos.
⁠ 32 ⁠Every one therefore that shall confess me before men, I will also confess him before my Father who is in heaven.
Omnis ergo qui confitebitur me coram hominibus, confitebor et ego eum coram Patre meo, qui in caelis est.


St Polycarp, a disciple of St John the Apostle, was Bishop of Smyrna for seventy years, and was martyred under Marcus Aurelius A.D.169.


*Personal note...St Polycarp is one of my favorite saints. Maybe just because of his name or maybe because his life story was read to me by my mother when I was a child. One of his traits was avoiding bad people. When others were preaching something different from Our Lord he plugged his ears. All that he learned from St John he taught to others. He was captured when Christians were being put to death. He gave a meal to the men who came to capture him. The judge tried to make him save himself by cursing Jesus. "I have served Jesus eighty-six years," answered the Saint "and He has never done me any wrong. How can I curse the King who died for me?" The soldiers tied St Polycarp's hands behind his back and placed him on a burning pile. But the fire did not harm him. One of the soldiers then stabbed a lance into his heart. And so the holy martyr went to be forever with the Divine Master he had served so well.