Monday Musings – Uniting With the Persecuted

This past week has been full of what I like to call “martyr days” —  liturgical commemorations of various saints who have given their lives for Christ. One of my favorites is of St. Paul Miki and his companions, a group of 26 Japanese Catholics who were crucified at Nagasaki in 1597. Their story is impossible to read without being incredibly inspired. Learning about the lives of the saints, especially the martyrs, always makes me re-examine my own life and how well I am living it. Would I have the courage to do what they did? How strong is my faith really?

We are all called to defend the truth and beauty of the faith, the Church, and Christ in a variety of different ways. If you are in a specific line of work, politics, or non-cloistered religious life, you may have to witness more vocally, maybe even in the public square. For many of us, however, the more subtle example of trying to live an uncompromisingly moral and ethical Christian life in the world, while striving for holiness, is enough.

In other words, we are not all called to physical martyrdom, but we are each asked to do whatever it takes to stand up for Christ, which includes being willing to shed our blood if necessary, and not being afraid to defend Him and His Church by our words and actions.

Yesterday we heard St. Paul talk about this responsibility:

“If I preach the gospel, this is no reason for me to boast,
for an obligation has been imposed on me,
and woe to me if I do not preach it!”[1]

So, evangelizing is not optional. This much-needed reminder from the apostle comes from his own personal first experience with Jesus, whose powerful words to him are also meant for us:

“Get up now, and stand on your feet.I have appeared to you for this purpose,
to appoint you as a servant and witness of what you have seen [of me]…
to open their eyes that they may turn from darkness to light and from
the power of Satan to God, so that they may obtain forgiveness of sins.”[2]

We are all supposed to have this kind of relationship with the Lord. We each have been appointed as servant and witness; our eyes have been opened to the light. We experience the freedom of turning from the power of Satan to the power of the Lord Jesus, the power of our sins being forgiven by a merciful God. This should make us long to live a life of joy and share the Gospel with the world in any way we can!

It’s easy to lose this perspective in the midst of daily life, but here are two great ways to keep it in mind. First, if you can, try to stay tuned in to the lives of the saints, especially the martyrs, and let yourself be encouraged and inspired by their witness. There’s a great new interactive website for this called SaintNook.

Number two, find a reliable media source, like The Voice of the Martyrs, OpenDoors, or International Christian Concern. You can sign up on any of these sites for email updates, and reminders to pray or get involved in helping our Christian brothers and sisters who are are being persecuted right now. As Christians, we should all be aware of what is going on in the world so that we know what and who to pray for.

Doing these two things is a constant reminder to ask yourself, “How much do I love my faith, my Church, my Lord? Enough to do anything for them?”

This week, let us not be afraid to stand up for the truth in love. This does not mean seeking confrontation with those who do not understand or tolerate the teachings of the Church. What it does mean is not being afraid to defend those teachings by our words and actions when people around us misrepresent them, whether from malice or ignorance; To lovingly stand for those teachings in a firm, convicted way, without arrogance or negativity, showing forth the true joy of the gospel by the witness of our lives.