Wisdom 3:1-9; Ps 126 Lk 9:23-26
Today we celebrate the courageous acts of will of Andrew Kim, Paul Chong Hasang and his companions. Between 1839-1867 103 christians gave their lives as martyrs. Andrew Kim was a priest, Paul Hasang was a lay apostle and most of the those who were killed for their faith were the laity.
Andrew Kim's final exhortation, "I urge you to remain steadfast in faith, so that at last we will all reach heaven and there rejoice together."
Gandhi says the following, "Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will."
In deed, this is the source of strength for every martyr. The will is that faculty that chooses the highest love and lets that love lead it on. Martyrs are great witnesses not because of how they die but "why" they die.
I am reminded of this every time I scroll through the channels on the TV and come across Spike TV which has a show called 1000 ways to die. In depicts people who do unintelligent things, at least normally, that lead to their death.
The focus is on the way they die and also the why, usually referring to bad decisions.
Martyrs are those who make good decisions. THey choose the highest good and allow their will to be reinforced in the faith they profess.
What would the world look like if we all had that resolve, allowing our will to be reinforced by the faith we profess.
Where does our strength come from?
As the book of wisdom reminds us, "The souls of the just are in the hands of God and no torment shall touch them. They seemed in the view of the foolish, to be dead; and their passing away was thought an affliction and their going forth from us, utter destruction. But they are in peace...As gold in a furnace, he(God) proved them and as a sacrificial offering he took them to himself."
There is the key to martyrdom. Martyrs allow God to have his way with way them. They allow God to make them a sacrificial offering and thus taking them to himself.
In the end we shall be judged on love. This is the reason for our will. We must choose wisely; we must seek the highest good; we must be willing to take our cross, deny ourselves, and follow JEsus.
It is following JEsus that our will is purified, refined, proved and thus strengthen.
"Those who trust in him shall understand truth, and the faithful shall abide with him in love." wisdom 3:9
The words of the post are in korean, Tta-ra o-se-yo! 따라 오세요!, which simply means "come with me!"
Blessed John Paul II on the mission of the lay faithful
"The People of God believes that it is led by the Spirit of the Lord, who fills the whole world. Moved by this faith it tries to discern authentic signs of God's presence and purpose in the events, the needs, and the longings which it shares with other people of our time. For faith throws a new light on all things and makes known the full ideal to which God has called each individual, and thus guides the mind towards solutions which are fully human"(6).
It is necessary, then, to keep a watchful eye on this our world, with its problems and values, its unrest and hopes, its defeats and triumphs: a world whose economic, social, political and cultural affairs pose problems and grave difficulties in light of the description provided by the Council in the Pastoral Constitution, Gaudium et Spes.(7)This, then, is the vineyard; this is the field in which the faithful are called to fulfill their mission. Jesus wants them, as he wants all his disciples, to be the "salt of the earth" and the "light of the world" (cf. Mt 5:13-14)."
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