Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - The Church always suffers persecution. We should not be surprised by this fact. Jesus announced this persecution: “Remember the word I spoke to you, 'No slave is greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours” (Jn 15:20).
In imitation of the Master, the Church suffers rejection by the world. Persecution is always a painful and unjust reality, but it is always a sign of the Church’s vitality, of her fidelity to the Word and to the Person of Christ. “Indeed, even today we receive news from various parts of the world of missionaries, priests, Bishops, men and women religious and lay faithful who are persecuted, imprisoned, tortured, deprived of freedom or prevented from exercising it because they are disciples of Christ and apostles of the Gospel; at times, they even suffer and die for being in communion with the universal Church or for their fidelity to the Pope,” Benedict XVI said, in his Angelus address on December 26, 2007, feast of St. Stephen, the Church’s first martyr.
In his missionary intention for this month, the Holy Father mentions the various manners of persecution. Throughout the world, there are still a variety of persecutions taking place. Although in the West, the persecution may not take violent forms, the Church continues to be treated with disdain, indifference, and in many cases, with ridicule in the face of Christianity, the truths of the faith, and even in the face of God Himself. In missionary lands, violent persecutions continue and many of our brethren continue to shed their blood, offering the greatest testimony of their love for Christ. “Martyrdom,” John Paul II says in Incarnationis Mysterium, “is the most eloquent proof of the truth of the faith, for faith can give a human face even to the most violent of deaths and show its beauty even in the midst of the most atrocious persecutions” (13).
We should not forget our brethren, of the Church, who live in constant persecution. Our prayer should be a sign of our communion with them. Saint Augustine speaks of Church as the Body of Christ, that continues to shed blood through some of its members. Saint Paul clearly expresses this communion of life and suffering that should remain among Christ’s members: “If (one) part suffers, all the parts suffer with it”(1 Cor 12:26). If a member of the Church does not suffer at the sight of other suffering members, we would have to question the authenticity of his vital union to the Mystical Body of Christ.
We should constantly ask the Holy Spirit to come upon our persecuted brethren. As the Preface from the Mass for Martyrs says, God chooses the man’s weakness as proof of His strength. The courageous testimony of faith shows how God sustains the human frailty with His Love.
May we join in praying for our missionaries, as well, that they may be faithful to the truth of the Gospel. Even Saint John the Baptist suffered martyrdom for his fidelity to the truth. The Church of the Living God is “the pillar and foundation of truth.”
One of the greatest temptations we all face is that of making compromises on the truth, in order to avoid difficulties and persecutions. That is why we should thank God for the courageous testimony of the many missionaries who are, indeed, faithful to the Lord and who remain so even in the face of violent threats.
May we offer our prayer for our persecuted brethren, that they may experience the joy Christ promised in the midst of difficulties: “Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you (falsely) because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven. Thus they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Mt. 5:10-12).
The Church, as Spouse of Christ persecuted, should live like Him, without letting persecutions frighten her, and rejoicing always at the opportunity to imitate the Master: “...the Church, prompted by the Holy Spirit, must walk in the same path on which Christ walked: a path of poverty and obedience, of service and self - sacrifice to the death, from which death He came forth a victor by His resurrection. For thus did all the Apostles walk in hope, and by many trials and sufferings they filled up those things wanting to the Passion of Christ for His body which is the Church. For often, the blood of Christians was like a seed.(AG, 5). (Agenzia Fides, 28/2/2008 righe 58, parole 784)
