In the first reading, Mattathias refused to apostatize – that is, to renounce his faith. He was proud of his faith and religion.  We also see the audacity of faith too in the life of Leah Sharibu who was abducted by Boko Haram in 2019. She is still in the hands of her abductors because she refused to apostatize. She remained faithful to her Christian faith despite the threat, suffering and persecution. A new music video done by Reno Omokri, Onyeka Onwenu and Panam Percy Paul in her honour was recently released titled: Angels on Guard. Part of the song has these words: “Leah Sharibu, we will never forget you, Angels on Guard. There is a girl called Leah Sharibu taken from us, but she won’t deny her Jesus, kept in captivity, through torture and pain…wherever you may be, Angels on Guard.” We are presented with the examples of Mattathias and Leah Sharibu as models for the audacity of Faith. Let us draw inspiration from them in our day-to-day living.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, help me to draw inspiration from the audacity of Mattathias and Leah Sharibu to stand for my faith and its consequences. Amen