"A prophet is not accepted in his or her country."

Today's gospel from Luke 4: 24-30 reminds me of a situation that occurred in the parish of Combapata in the Andes of Peru. Felisiana was a wonderful catequist and leader of the christian community in her village of Huatocane. She was very dedicated and respected by everyone until the mayor told his drinking mates that he and Felisiana were lovers. It was completely false, nothing more than a drunken fantasy. Felisiana was completely supported by her husband and family and members of the community who knew that it was false. However the rumour spread, some people believed it and it made her position in the community so difficult that she felt that she could no longer continue. She cited the words of Jesus in the gospel, ''A prophet is never honoured in his or her own country.'' But I told her that Jesus spoke those words before his Resurrection. Now it is different; we are all baptised into the community of Jesus and called to support those chosen to guide that community. Eventually everyone realized the falsity of the claims and today Felisiana is totally supported by the community as she continues her missionary work. Today we celebrate the tenth anniversary of the election of Pope Francis. He is dedicating his life to base all aspects of the church on the example of Jesus who came not to be served but to serve all especially those with the greatest needs. But he too has been attacked by those who see that his leadership will cause them to lose their positions of power and some have branded Francis as a false prophet. We thank you, Lord, for people like Felisiana and Francis and pray that we too will not allow opposition to turn us away from missionary discipleship.