Be a rebel.

Perhaps that’s the last thing you expected to hear today, but the truth is, it’s important to rebel against the right things. Jesus was a rebel. So were the saints. 

What did they rebel against? The world and a soul-destroying culture.

St. Andrew Kim Taegon, the world’s first native-born Korean priest, refused to conform to the culture that he was born into. In the 19th century, Christianity in Korea was punishable by death. Andrew knew this firsthand, as his parents’ conversion had left his father a martyr and his mother a beggar. 

Andrew would not be deterred from pursuing the truth. At fifteen, he was secretly baptized, and soon after receiving the sacrament, he fled to China to join the seminary. But he didn’t abandon the culture that sought to destroy the faith that his parents had given everything for. After his ordination, Andrew fearlessly returned to Korea, evangelizing the people and helping other missionaries safely enter the country. After two years of this revolutionary work, Andrew was captured, tortured, and martyred. 

Today, St. Andrew Kim Taegon is honored as the patron saint of the country that persecuted him. We may not face martyrdom like he did, but we do face a culture that has an empty, soul-destroying vision for our lives.

Let’s compare God’s vision for you and your life with the modern culture’s vision for you and your life. God loves you deeply and wants you to become the-best-version-of-yourself. The culture doesn’t care about you and usually leads you toward a-second-rate-version-of-yourself. What drives God? Love. What’s driving the culture? Consumption. Almost everything that happens in today’s culture is aimed at getting you to buy something, or feel inadequate, or both. 

God sees us as his children. He created us free and wants to keep us free. The culture sees us as cattle and wants to turn us into slaves. Do you want to be a child of God or a slave to the culture? The problem is most of us spend a lot more time listening to the culture than we do listening to God. It’s time to rebel.

Reject the modern culture and the world’s empty vision for your life. Embrace God. You will be happier.



Feast Day: September 20

Feast Day Shared By: Saint Eustachius

Patron Saint of: Korea

Symbols: Martyr's crown

Canonized: May 6, 1984

Canonized By: Pope John Paul II