This day, the Liturgy of the Hours remembers the Martyrs because of the Memorial for St. Josaphat, Bishop and Martyr.
Psalm 44 painfully describes the misfortunes of God’s people.
It is you, my king, my God,
***
The suffering psalmist expresses how much he has praised and obeyed God. Despite his efforts, God seems to abandon him and all those who suffer. They are killed by the enemies, or God-haters, and unbelievers, God does not to stop it. Even with all those tribulations, they still chose to obey God and stay true to His commandments. They questioned God for their miseries and oppressions, and asked Him where He was. But in the end, he, along with God’s faithful people, chooses to love Him.
Aside from the Memorial of a Martyr, just with how it sounds, we are sure this talks of the Martyrs of the Church. They had left everything behind, and sacrificed their lives, but didn’t try escaping or retracting their preachings to die for Jesus. For regular people, they are insane, and the most tragic and worst losers in the world.
But for us Catholics, we must see it as triumph. Martyrdom is the ultimate form of Christian death, the greatest way to die, the highest form of witness to faith. The Martyrs entered Heaven straight because of their deep Communion with the death of Christ.
Dominic Prummer, O.P., the great moral theologian defines Martyrdom as:
Acts of Fortitude. . . . these acts reach their peak in martyrdom. Martyrdom is the endurance of bodily death in witness to the Christian religion.
Therefore three conditions must be verified for martyrdom: a) actual death; b) the infliction of death by an enemy out of hatred for Christianity. c) the voluntary acceptance of death. — Therefore the following are not genuinely martyrs: those who die by contracting disease in their care of lepers, those who suffer death for natural truths or for heresy, or who [indirectly] bring about their own death to safeguard their person. —
The effect of martyrdom is the remission of all sin and punishment, since it is an act of perfect charity.
True martyrdom requires three conditions: (1) that the victim actually die, (2) that he or she dies in witness of faith in Christ which is directly expressed in words, or implicitly in acts done or sins refused because of faith, and (3) that the victim accepts death voluntarily. They are not martyrs who do not actually die, or die from disease, for the sake of merely natural truths, or heresy, or for their country in war, or through suicide, etc.
‘Martyr’ is often used loosely of anyone who dies for the sake of any cause. But the Christian cause is in fact objectively true, and not a subjective illusion, as are many of the causes for which persons die sincerely but deludedly. Thus those who die for the sake of fanatical religious cults, or as terrorists, or for their own glory, however sincere, are not genuine martyrs, but are objectively suicides. Nor are those who die for a noble but merely human motive, as the parent who dies to save a child, or a soldier for his country, since such virtuous acts can pertain simply to the order of natural virtue.
The Holy Innocents, even they didn’t accept to die for the Infant Jesus, they died in place of Him, so they belong to the Catholic doctrine of Baptism of Blood, which removes the Original Sin, the actual sins, and the punishments which accompany them.
Just a reminder, Martyrs only testifies to divine truth. A heretic in good faith who dies for Christ can be called a martyr, but if he dies for his sect, he’s not a martyr because he testified to a false human teaching and not to divine truth.
Here in our present time, it’s estimated that a Catholic missionary dies a martyr every 2 weeks.
Our Blessed Mother is the Queen of Martyrs, even she did not die as a martyr, because she surpassed the Martyrs with her sorrows.
 |
| Martyrs for Catholicism, the divine Truth. |
Matthew 16:24-26
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? Or what can one give in exchange for his life?
 |
| The Filipino Martyrs. |
John 15:13
No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
Catholics who don’t die as martyrs can share in martyrdom, by being ready to die for our faith. We are in a constant spiritual warfare:
Ephesians 6:11-13
Put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the tactics of the devil. For our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens. Therefore, put on the armor of God, that you may be able to resist on the evil day and, having done everything, to hold your ground.
1 Peter 5:8-9
Be sober and vigilant. Your opponent the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for [someone] to devour. Resist him, steadfast in faith, knowing that your fellow believers throughout the world undergo the same sufferings.
My brothers and sisters in Christ, we pray that we die in Him, and be ready if one day, we are faced with the chance to die for Him. Saints and pious people who were blessed to see Purgatory and spirits surrounding a person dying said that God may allow demons to tempt a dying person for the last time to really let him choose between God and the Devil. We pray that we never reject God during our life and until the point of death. We pray to choose the burdens of the Cross for the rewards in eternity, against the worldly pleasures. We pray to have the strength to endure the sufferings and trials, and not fall to the traps of the evil spirits. We pray that we wake up from death seeing the face of God with all the Angels and saints in the next life.
She graduated cum laude from the University of Santo Tomas, the country's Pontifical and Catholic university, with an AB in Legal Management and minor units in Theology.
As an unmarried woman, prayer holds a central place in her daily life, with a focus on the Rosary and the Divine Office. Embodying her faith, she emphasizes the growth of her inner spiritual life, guided by the wisdom of Carmelite spirituality.
God manifested to her in a unique and radical manner, which made her know Who He truly is and led her to total surrender of her life to Him.
She has studied the Bible with her family, developing a particular fondness for the Old Testament.
Her adorable and intelligent toy poodle is a delightful companion in her daily life, bringing warmth and joy to her home.
Her hobbies include reading about everything, learning Japanese and German, listening to music and playing the flute.
In her leisure time, she enjoys gaming on PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch OLED, Nintendo 3DS, iOS and OS, and collecting things related to PlayStation and Nintendo.
Email: [email protected]
Like 'The Best Catholic' on Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheBestCatholic
Leave a Reply