Today is the feast of the Martyrs of Paraguay, three South
American Jesuit saints killed in the mid-seventeenth century for their
missionary work among native peoples. In his homily for their canonization,
Saint John Paul II said:
Neither the obstacles of the
wilderness, the misunderstanding of people, nor the attacks of those who saw
their evangelizing activity as a threat to personal interests, could intimidate
these champions of the Faith. Their unreserved self-offering led them to martyrdom....
The entire life of (Roch) Gonzalez de Santa Cruz and his companion martyrs was
completely characterized by love: love for God and, in him, for all people,
particularly the most needy, those who did not know Christ’s existence or had
not yet been liberated by his redeeming grace…the fruits did not take long in
coming. As a result of their missionary activity, many people abandoned pagan
worship to open themselves up to the light of the true faith.
Saints Roch Gonzalez, Alphonsus Rodriguez, and John de Castillo,
please pray for us on this day of your feast, that we may be fearless in
proclaiming the Gospel.
Information from Matthew and Margaret Bunson’s John Paul II’s Book of Saints.
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