“In narrating the birth of our country, no one would forget figures such as Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and, of course, George Washington. Yet Catholics know that it is truly the spiritual that forms and shapes the external reality. In this sense, when we look for the true spiritual fathers of our country, we would be absolutely remiss to forget the figure of St. Isaac Jogues (1607-46). Though on mission to French Canada, his captivity brought him deep inside the present territory of the United States; he may have been the first white man to traverse the Adirondack Mountains on foot and was one of the first to sail down the Susquehanna River through central Pennsylvania. If only his christening of the present day Lake George had stuck as Lake of the Blessed Sacrament! St. Isaac Jogues, along with his other fellow Jesuits, sanctified our nation with their blood, laying the true spiritual foundation for our country, one that we need to take up and make our own.”
In a recent commentary, R. Jared Staudt, Assistant Professor of Theology and Catechesis at the Augustine Institute, reflected on the role of Saint Isaac Jogues (and the other North American Martyrs) in tilling “the soil for a new Christendom in America” and on the challenges still being faced by Christians in this nation, reminding us: “This is all the more reason to turn back to the foundation of our martyrs, looking to them as a model of witnessing to Christ through charity, patient endurance, and even suffering.”
To access Mr. Staudt’s complete post, please visit:
Crisis Magazine: A Forgotten Founding Father: St. Isaac Jogues (17 OCT 13)
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