Tom Brown’s School Days was a famous British novel written by Thomas Hughes. Tom Brown was a popular boy who attended a boarding school in England. He lived with about a dozen other boys in one of the school’s dormitories. Whatever Tom said or did always had a big impact on what the other boys in the school said or did. One day a new boy came to the school. When it came time for bed that night, the new boy innocently knelt beside his bed to say his prayers. A few of the boys began to snigger. A couple of others began to laugh and joke. One even threw a shoe at the kneeling boy. That night Tom didn’t go to sleep right away. He lay awake, thinking about what had happened to the newcomer. He also began to think about his mother and the prayers she taught him to say each night before bed – prayers he had not said since coming to school. The next night several of the boys in the dormitory were looking forward to poking fun at the new boy again. When bedtime came, however, something totally unexpected happened. When the new boy knelt to say his night prayers, Tom knelt also. When the other boys in the dormitory saw Tom kneeling and praying, they did not carry out their plans. That simple little episode from Tom Brown’s School Days illustrates in a dramatic and poignant way what Jesus had in mind when he said in today’s gospel: Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father. But whoever denies me before others, I will deny before my heavenly Father. Bearing witness or not bearing witness to our faith can have a profound impact on those around us. To witness to our faith in the world today is a daunting task and we sometimes are fearful. Once it took courage not to come to church in Ireland. But for many today it takes courage to come, to stand up for Christian principles and beliefs, to swim against the tide. Today is not an easy time to be Catholic. We are living in a secular society, one that is more and more hostile to the Christian message. The Catholic Church and Christian values continue to be bombarded by some sectors of the media and the secular world in which we live. Given this atmosphere we are tempted to be quiet about our faith. We may fear acting or speaking out in a Christian way for fear of being ridiculed. Sometimes I feel we have been brow beaten into silence by a very antagonistic media. We as Catholics must stand up and defend the sanctity of marriage, the right of the unborn child, the gradual erosion of Christian values in our society. An area where this is very relevant is in is in the home. The way parents witness or fail to witness to their faith has a profound effect on their children and grandchildren. I have come across children who get very upset because their parents won’t bring them to mass. For instance, the example of Tom Brown’s mother and her witness to her faith was the determining factor that led Tom to bear witness to his faith in front of his peers. Someone once said that every Christian occupies some kind of pulpit and preaches some kind of sermon every day. St. Francis invited a brother to accompany him to preach to the town. Today’s gospel message is directed at all of us. Christ is asking us to have the courage to be his witnesses in the world, to not be afraid to stand with him whatever it costs. If we do not stand up for Jesus in our world today, how can we expect him to stand up for us when we need him? Let us close with a prayer: God our Father, give us the courage to bear witness to you in every area of life. Help us realize that the most important area of witness is in the home. If we bear witness in this area, our witness in the other areas of life will take care of itself.