We all have heard the saying: "If it was a snake it would have bit me/you" which indicates, among other things, that something may be so close to us that we don't realize until it's too late. Perhaps it's a stretch to use that as an analogy about something that took place relatively close to us, that we might not have been aware of and it's definitely too late to do anything about it. I'm refering to the beatification Mass of the first American martyr (officially declared so by Pope Francis), Blessed Stanley Rother which took place in Oklahoma City on September 13, 2017. It was only the second time in history that a beatification Mass and ceremony of an American born person took place in the United States. Over 20,000 persons converged on Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City that day and latecomers were left in the streets outside of the Convention Center (which only holds 15,000 people) to watch what was happening using their smartphones and tuning into EWTN. I'm telling you this not because I was there to see it, but because it is one of many things I read about in a short booklet that has been published (and is available for you to purchase) from a presentation that was given  many times by our own bishop, Anthony B Taylor, the first episcopal delegate of the cause of Blessed Stanley Rother. This forty page booklet brings out the most important aspects of this farm-boy priest, who answered the call of the Lord and his bishop 5 years into his priesthood to be a missionary in Guatemala (Santiago Atitlan) where he served for 13 years unto his martyrdom on July 28, 1981. His journey to the priesthood was anything but smooth as he faced dismissal from the first seminary he went to after 6 years of formation (due to struggles in some of his studies). After this happened, his bishop sent him to St Mary Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland where he completed his studies and was ordained a priest on May 25, 1963 for the Diocese of Oklahoma City. I'm hoping that you will want to know "the rest of the story" (as Paul Harvey used to say) about Blessed Stanley Rother and come to rejoice that we are so close to this modern day, homegrown American martyr. As we continue to support the future priests of Arkansas in prayer and in other ways (as was recently show by our Taste of Faith fundraiser) we should surely hope that they and future seminarians will finish their formation (God-willing) and be inspired by the example of Blessed Stanley and other priests to the be selfless, obedient servants of Jesus Christ who faithfully care for their flocks as shepards who, like Blessed Stanley, are ready to give their life for them in the name of Jesus Christ!