December 17th, 2023

Sunday, December 17, 2023 – Third Sunday of Advent - Cycle B
Readings: Isaiah 61: 1-2A, 10-11, Luke 1 “My soul rejoices in my God”, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24, John 1: 6-8, 19-28
                                              The Cause for Beatification
     "The Story of the promotion of the Cause of the Martyrs in the United States is in itself simple, one that might be ex-pressed in few words; the magnitude of the Cause, the motives of justice and charity underlying it, and the glorious end in view, might well fill volumes."
--Rev. Msgr. James M. Powers, LL.D. Commission of the Beatification of the US Martyrs, 1957 
                                            Status of the Beatification Effort
 Bishop William A. Wack of Pensacola-Tallahassee is the ‘competent bishop’ for the beatification effort of the Martyrs of La Florida. The bishops across the Southeast who have martyrdoms from historic Florida in their dioceses have been invited to participate in the beatification cause. Several bishops have given their assent to include their martyrs in the united cause. The Congregation for the Causes of Saints has permitted the unified group cause because all of the presumed martyrs were killed in the evangelization of La Florida.
Since the cause opened in October of 2015, the timeline to close the diocesan phase and to move toward beatification rests squarely on the shoulders of the scholars who form the historical commission. The commission must complete the identification and verification of all supporting documents. Further, the historians will be required to give sworn testimony to the tribunal concerning the strength or weakness of each proposed martyr in each event. Since that time, members of the Historical Commission have been extensively researching numerous individuals from the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries who are report-ed to have died for the faith within the land that was once known as La Florida. These investigations have taken members of the Historical Commission to archives in Florida, Georgia, Missouri, and Louisiana, as well as Cuba, Mexico, Spain, and Rome. In keeping with the Church’s prudent requirements, the Historical Commission has rigorously examined each and every report of martyrdom in order to assess its accuracy and credibility.
We will continue next week with The Cause for Beatification Source: Martyrs - Martyrs of La Florida Missions - Tallahassee, FL