A Pleasing Sacrifice To God

This morning we remember Blessed Elías del Socorro Nieves, who was martyred on this day in 1928 and beatified by Saint John Paul II in 1997. Padre Nieves defied an order from the Mexican government to leave his town of ministry. After spending 14 months living in a cave and ministering by night, he was arrested and shot. 

Before Padre Nieves died, his murderer said, “Let’s see if dying is anything like saying Mass.” To this, the martyr answered, “You are speaking the truth. To die for our religion is a pleasing sacrifice to God.”

In his homily for the beatification of this holy man, St. John Paul II said:

The life and martyrdom of Fr. Nieves, who did not want to abandon his faithful despite the risks he was taking, are in themselves an invitation to renew faith in God who can do everything. He faced death with fortitude, blessing his executioners and witnessing to his faith in Christ. The Church in Mexico today has a new and a powerful intercessor who will help her to renew her Christian life; his Augustinian brothers have one more example to imitate in their constant search for God in fraternity and in service to the People of God; for the whole Church he is an eloquent example of the fruits of holiness which the power of God’s grace produced in him.

Blessed Elías del Socorro Nieves, you were a man filled with the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and these gifts prepared you for martyrdom. Please pray for us today, that we might be like you in imitating God’s perfect sacrifice.

St. Stephen, Pray for Us

Today we celebrate the feast of Saint Stephen, the first martyr of the Church. His martyrdom is described in the first reading for today, and while it is a sad account, it is also appropriate to the joy of Christmastide. For Stephen’s death was actually a new birth, one made possible by the birth of Christ. As Saint John Paul II said on this day in 2003:

The Church calls the day of martyrdom a dies natalis (birthday). Indeed, by virtue of Christ's death and Resurrection, the death of the martyr is a birth in Heaven. This is why it is so meaningful to celebrate the First Martyr the day after Christmas: Jesus who was born in Bethlehem gave his life for us so that we too, reborn “from on high” through faith and Baptism, might be willing to give up our own lives for love of our brothers and sisters.

St. Stephen, please pray for us, that we may receive whatever grace we need to offer the gift of ourselves to God and others during this season of giving.

These Champions Of The Faith

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.

The Truth is the Truth

Dear brothers and sisters, the martyrdom of St. John the Baptist reminds us, Christians of our time, that we cannot stoop to compromises with the love of Christ, his Word, the Truth. The Truth is the Truth and there is no compromise. Christian life requires, so to speak, the daily "martyrdom" of fidelity to the Gospel - that is the courage to let Christ grow in us and direct our thinking and our actions. But this can only happen in our lives if there is a solid relationship with God.

Prayer is not a waste of time, it does not rob much space from our activities, not even apostolic activities, it does the exact opposite: only if we are able to have a life of faithful, constant, confident prayer will God Himself give us the strength and capacity to live in a happy and peaceful way, to overcome difficulties and to bear witness with courage…

-Pope Benedict XVI’s Wednesday Catechesis; August 29, 2012; Memorial of Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist

A Young Woman in Search of the Truth

Today the Church celebrates the feast of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, or Edith Stein, who was canonized by Blessed John Paul II in 1998. “A young woman in search of the truth,” Edith serves as a model for young thinkers seeking what is good and right, and what is truly free. Although she was brought up by a Jewish mother, Edith turned from prayer to philosophy and self-reliance as she grew. Her heart yearned for hope as she searched for truth, and this open-hearted seeking eventually led to a surprising answer: “only those who commit themselves to the love of Christ become truly free.”

And commit to Christ she did. Once St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross found the Truth, she gave herself to Him through entering the Carmelite Order and eventually, through her martyrdom. In his homily for her canonization Mass, Blessed John Paul II said:

Because she was Jewish, Edith Stein was taken with her sister Rosa and many other Catholic Jews from the Netherlands to the concentration camp in Auschwitz, where she died with them in the gas chambers. Today we remember them all with deep respect. A few days before her deportation, the woman religious had dismissed the question about a possible rescue: “Do not do it! Why should I be spared? Is it not right that I should gain no advantage from my Baptism? If I cannot share the lot of my brothers and sisters, my life, in a certain sense, is destroyed”.

St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, the “martyr for love” who told us not to “accept anything as the truth if it lacks love” or “accept anything as love which lacks truth,” Pray for Us!

St. Augustine Zhao Rong and Companions, Pray for Us!

"The precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart" (Responsorial Psalm). These words of the Responsorial Psalm clearly reflect the experience of Augustine Zhao Rong and his 119 companions, martyrs in China. The testimonies which have come down to us allow us to glimpse in them a state of mind marked by deep serenity and joy.

Today the Church is grateful to her Lord, who blesses her and bathes her in light with the radiant holiness of these sons and daughters of China. Is not the Holy Year the most appropriate moment to make their heroic witness shine resplendently? Young Ann Wang, a 14-year-old, withstood the threats of the torturers who invited her to apostatize. Ready for her beheading, she declared with a radiant face:  "The door of heaven is open to all", three times murmuring:  "Jesus". And 18-year-old Chi Zhuzi, cried out fearlessly to those who had just cut off his right arm and were preparing to flay him alive:  "Every piece of my flesh, every drop of my blood will tell you that I am Christian".

The other 85 Chinese men and women of every age and state, priests, religious and lay people, showed the same conviction and joy, sealing their unfailing fidelity to Christ and the Church with the gift of their lives. This occurred over the course of several centuries and in a complex and difficult era of China's history. Today's celebration is not the appropriate time to pass judgement on those historical periods:  this can and should be done elsewhere. Today, with this solemn proclamation of holiness, the Church intends merely to recognize that those martyrs are an example of courage and consistency to us all, and that they honour the noble Chinese people.

            -Homily of Blessed John Paul II, Canonization Mass on October 1, 2000

Yesterday was the feast of St. Augustine Zhao Rong and his Companions, who were canonized by Blessed John Paul II. Let us take this opportunity to ask for their intercession, especially now, as the Church faces continued persecution in China.