JOURNALIST-MARTYR St. Titus Brandsma is an example of courageous truth-telling even on the brink of death, a Carmelite priest said during the votive Mass for St. Titus Brandsma on Saturday, Jan. 28, at the Santisimo Rosario Parish Church.
In his homily, Fr. Christopher Labrador, O.Carm., director of the Carmelite Mission and Development Office in Quezon City, lauded Brandsma for using the power of the word to spread truths.
“Titus was a good communicator; his articles in the Catholic press were aimed at a mass audience and were written in [an] accessible [and] inviting way,” he said.
Labrador said Brandsma also advocated for ecumenism, or the promotion of Christian unity, which made him a reconciling figure in the face of multiple barriers.
Brandsma, a Dutch Carmelite and a theologian who fiercely opposed Nazi ideologies, died at the Dachau concentration camp in 1942 via lethal injection.
“Kung tayo’y tunay na nananampalataya, at umaasa na maging mabuti ang ating buhay, huwag matakot magsalita ng katotohanan,” Labrador said.
Brandsma’s relic was brought to the University by the Order of Carmelites from the Carmel of St. Joseph in Lucena City, Quezon, on Friday, Jan. 27. It was personally received by UST Parish Priest Fr. Paul Talavera, O.P. It will be on public display until Sunday morning, Jan. 29.
A catechesis was held Saturday after the 9 a.m. Mass.
Brandsma was canonized by Pope Francis on May 15, 2022, more than three decades after his beatification. He is the titular patron of the Philippine Province of the Order of Carmelites. With reports from Allyssa Mae C. Cruz
