Readings:
- Epistle: 1 Corinthians 4:9–14
- Gospel: Luke 12:32–34
- Sanctus: Saint Didacus (San Diego de Alcalá), Confessor
On this day, the Church in her traditional liturgy commemorates Saint Didacus, a humble Franciscan lay brother whose hidden life of charity and penance bore fruit not in earthly recognition, but in sanctity known to Heaven. Fittingly, Holy Mother Church places before us two readings which pierce the veil of worldly judgment and reveal the paradoxical wisdom of the Cross.
✠ “We Are Made as the Offscouring of the World” (1 Cor. 4:13)
Saint Paul, in writing to the Corinthians, unveils the true lot of the Apostles—men who are made a spectacle to the world, even “unto angels and unto men” (v.9). He contrasts their lot with the pride and ease of the Corinthian faithful: “We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are wise in Christ” (v.10). The irony is sharp, the rebuke gentle but firm. Paul presents the apostolic vocation not as a triumph of success or status, but as a continual self-emptying in imitation of the Crucified.
Saint John Chrysostom, commenting on this passage, observes:
“The Apostles were not merely poor or afflicted, but despised. Their life was a daily death. They were treated as refuse, as those unworthy of life. Yet they rejoiced, because they bore the marks of Christ.”
The Greek word used—περίψημα (peripsēma)—translated as offscouring or scum, refers to that which is cast off as worthless, even filth. And yet it is precisely in being counted worthless by the world that the Apostle is most conformed to the Lord.
So too Saint Didacus, whose sanctity was not adorned with worldly honors or eloquence, but with quiet, hidden sacrifices. A simple friar, unlearned in the eyes of men, he was “as one born out of due time” (cf. 1 Cor. 15:8), yet in the eyes of God, he was found worthy of exaltation.
✠ “Fear Not, Little Flock…” (Luke 12:32)
The Gospel, drawn from Our Lord’s tender discourse to His disciples, offers a divine reassurance: “Fear not, little flock: for it hath pleased your Father to give you the kingdom” (Lk 12:32). The world may cast the saints aside, but the Father gathers them as His own. Here the dignity of poverty is revealed, not as a misfortune, but as a spiritual liberty: “Sell what you possess and give alms… For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
Saint Gregory the Great echoes this Gospel when he writes:
“Let the soul despise all that passes away, and long for that which is eternal… For nothing can be lost in giving to God.”
Saint Didacus exemplified this counsel. He gave up all things—his home, his status, even his own will—to serve Christ in the lowliness of religious life. His treasures were stored not on earth but in heaven. And when he died in 1463, in the odor of sanctity, his uncorrupted body and miracles wrought at his tomb testified to the truth of the Lord’s words: “It hath pleased the Father to give you the kingdom.”
✠ The Hidden Wisdom of the Saints
In both readings today, the Church invites us to a deeper understanding of what it means to be truly Christian. The way of Christ is not the way of applause, but of abasement. It is not about worldly cleverness, but heavenly wisdom. Saint Augustine, in his commentary on Psalm 131, wrote:
“To be little is to be great in God’s sight. The proud tower high and fall; the humble bend low and are lifted up.”
Saint Didacus, like the Apostles, was “defamed… persecuted… made as the filth of the world” (1 Cor. 4:13). But he was rich in charity, clothed in humility, and adorned with the grace of God. His life teaches us that true greatness lies not in being esteemed by men, but in being known by God.
A Prayer for Today
O God, Who didst vouchsafe to ennoble Thy confessor Saint Didacus with the virtue of humility and the gift of miracles: grant, through his merits and intercession, that following his lowliness in this life, we may be partakers of his glory in the next. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.