Blessed Giuseppe Puglisi: "I've been expecting you."

Today we honor a very brave and honest man. In the book In Caelo et in Terra, we read about Blessed Giuseppe Puglisi. He was a priest in Italy, and he did not allow the mafia to run things in his church. He didn't allow anyone in the mafia to have positions of honor in the church, and he did not accept money from the mafia. He encouraged the young men in his church to live honest lives and resist corruption. He knew this was putting him in danger, but he continued doing his work in the church for years, even though he received many death threats.

Finally, a mafia hit man paid Giuseppe a visit. When he saw him, Giuseppe said, "I've been expecting you." The hit man then shot Giuseppe point blank, killing him instantly. We know what Giuseppe's last words were because the hit man later confessed his crime and reported the brave words spoken by the faithful priest. You can read more about him here.

There are many people throughout the world, especially in Afghanistan, North Korea, and China, who are bravely living their Christian faith in the face of the threat of death. Pray for them.

God, thanks for the brave example of this faithful priest. Blessed Giuseppe Puglisi, pray for us. We'll be expecting you.