February 16th is the 53rd Anniversary of the death of the organizer and first bishop of the Polish National Catholic Church, Francis Hodur.

My thoughts on this day focus on thanksgiving for this man of Christ. I thank our Lord Jesus Christ for everything he experienced, for every blessing and hardship he received. Each of these made him the servant of God that he was. They built his character as well as the mental and physical fortitude that allowed him to proclaim God’s Word across the globe.

He knew poverty because he was poor. He knew the desire for education because it had been denied to him for ten years. He knew hard work because he worked hard. He knew struggle because he struggled. He knew persecution because he had been persecuted. He knew the sweetness of freedom because he and his people had been denied freedom. Most of all he knew Jesus Christ because throughout it all Jesus was his focus and his goal.

I love reading his works and his homilies. His talks, the minutes of meetings and synods in which he played a key role, each speak of a man of God who wanted only to connect the poor to the love of God.

On this day I reflect on the events of 1897. A group of disaffected and brokenhearted parishioners from Scranton, Pennsylvania showed up at the door of his parish in Nanticoke, Pennsylvania.

I can see the faces of these people. They were definitely not wealthy. They were poor coal miners and laborers, housewives. All of them were regular people.

Nanticoke is about thirty miles from Scranton. The distance is not easy. It is hilly and rugged. This is 1897. There were no cars or buses. They were poor so the idea of using a horse or carriage was beyond their means. They probably walked. They had to get there and get back because the mine and factory whistle didn’t wait.

They stood there and asked to see Father Francis. He invited them inside. He listened to them.

They sacrificed so much so that the body and blood of our Lord could reside in a beautiful place. They gave up their pennies so that God might be glorified. For their sacrifice they had been mocked, laughed at, physically beaten, dragged to prison, and locked out. Their blood was not only in the walls of the church, it was upon the walls.

They sat around the table by candle light. Father Francis listened to them. He said, I will bring Christ to you. Like Christ, I will serve you and I will help you.

Father Hodur did not serve them by pandering to the people. He did not serve up an easily digestible meal. He called them to the things of God. He called them commit to Christ and to build the kingdom. He told them to study, to learn, to be self-reliant. He held them accountable for their sins and steered them back to Christ whenever they veered.

Father Francis not only called on them to do things, but provided for the means by which Christ’s work was to be done.

Father Francis did not believe in a half-way God. He believed in God; the one, the almighty, the ageless. He maintained them in the catholic faith. He built churches to the honor of Jesus’ name. He founded institutions of learning, fellowship, and mutual support. He taught the people and informed them. Most of all he worked with them. Christ always in front, the clergy and the people following Him and tending to God’s field.

Thank you Lord Jesus.
Thank you for the gift that Bishop Hodur was for us.
Thank you for the gift and charism that he is today.

As he was faithful to You, may we be faithful.
As he taught may we teach.
As he served, may we serve.

May the Holy Clergy following in his footsteps be inspired by his example.
May Your clergy and Your people work together,
Reborn, regenerated, and committed to Your Kingdom.

Amen.