Martyrdom is not popular, much less nowadays. Martyrdom is nonetheless, in a sense, the essence or heart of Christianity, even though only “a few” have endured it.
The Church continues its path amidst martyrdom and celebrates it as we do today on the solemnity of St John the Baptist who gave his life as a testimony for Christ.
What does martyrdom tell us, 21st century Christians?
Reflecting on the Baptist’s martyrdom back in 2012 Pope Benedict XVI said:
“John the Baptist did not limit himself to teaching repentance or conversion. Instead, in recognizing Jesus as the “Lamb of God” who came to take away the sin of the world (Jn 1:29), he had the profound humility to hold up Jesus as the One sent by God, drawing back so that he might take the lead, and be heard and followed. As his last act the Baptist witnessed with his blood to faithfulness to God’s commandments, without giving in or withdrawing, carrying out his mission to the very end. In the 9th century the Venerable Bede says in one of his Homilies: “… he did not keep silent about the truth and thus died for Christ who is the Truth. Precisely for love of the truth he did not stoop to compromises and did not fear to address strong words to anyone who had strayed from God’s path.
We see this great figure, this force in the Passion, in resistance to the powerful. We wonder: what gave birth to this life, to this interiority so strong, so upright, so consistent, spent so totally for God in preparing the way for Jesus? The answer is simple: it was born from the relationship with God, from prayer, which was the thread that guided him throughout his existence […]
[C]elebrating the martyrdom of St John the Baptist reminds us too, Christians of this time, that with love for Christ, for his words and for the Truth, we cannot stoop to compromises. The Truth is Truth; there are no compromises. Christian life demands, so to speak, the “martyrdom” of daily fidelity to the Gospel, the courage, that is, to let Christ grow within us and let him be the One who guides our thought and our actions. However, this can happen in our life only if we have a solid relationship with God. Prayer is not time wasted, it does not take away time from our activities, even apostolic activities, but exactly the opposite is true: only if we are able to have a faithful, constant and trusting life of prayer will God himself give us the ability and strength to live happily and serenely, to surmount difficulties and to witness courageously to him. St John the Baptist, intercede for us, that we may be ever able to preserve the primacy of God in our life.”2
May these words inspire us to fulfill the “martyrdom” of daily fidelity to the Gospel.
God bless you all,
Fr. Marcelo Javier Navarro Muñoz, IVE
Author: The Contribution of Cornelio Fabro to Fundamental Theology. Reason and Faith: cambridgescholars.com/product/978-1-5275-9315-2 Poesía Sacra, Quemar las Naves, and Desde Fossanova, IVE Press: ivepress.org/
2 Benedict XVI, General Audience, 29 August 2012, www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/audiences/2012/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20120829.html, accessed August 25, 2013. Emphasis added.
Thank you Fr Marcelo, your words are very inspiring to live for God a daily sacrifice of loving Him in others and to maintain a life of prayer. God bless you