Monday in the Octave of Easter
The ancient Greeks and Romans tried in vain to find the source of the Nile River. It’s complicated, but, basically, there are two major tributaries: the White Nile and the Blue Nile. The White Nile is the longer of the two, stretching out to Lake Victoria, in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. The Blue Nile is shorter, stretching only to Lake Tana in northern Ethiopia. Although it’s only half as long, the Blue Nile contributes four times as much water and silt than the White Nile. The Blue Nile is the major tributary, and its source was encountered by a European for the first time on this date in 1618. The European was a Jesuit missionary named Pedro Paez.
Paez was born in Spain in 1564 and studied at a Jesuit college before entering the Society. When he was only 24 years old, he was sent as a missionary to Ethiopia. Arab pirates captured his ship and put him in prison while seeking his ransom. Paez spent 7 years in prison, studying languages, until his ransom could be paid. Not discouraged, he set out for Ethiopia again, and this time he succeeded. He learned the language and began spreading Roman Catholicism very quickly. He converted the king and persuaded him to repudiate all of his wives but one. In the King’s company, he became the first European to reach the source of the Blue Nile. Four years later, in 1622, Father Paez passed away. Subsequent Jesuit missionaries failed to sustain the Catholic faith in Ethiopia. It died out there after a couple of decades.
To keep the faith alive in your heart, you must discover, over and over again, the source of the river of grace that fertilizes all of Christianity. You must discover and re-discover the most Sacred Heart of Jesus.