Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Rome (Agenzia Fides) - After the generation of the Apostles, the witnesses "par excellence" of the Gospel of Christ have always been the martyrs, those who shed their blood for Christ and also experienced in their flesh the miracle of forgiving "their torturers". Because the martyrs, are not to be seen as “heroes” who acted individually, like "flowers blooming in a desert" but "ripe and excellent fruit of the vineyard of the Lord, which is the Church". And the Church has never made any recriminations for her martyrs, and has always looked upon martyrdom as an "exceptional gift and as the fullest proof of love". With these and other eloquent expressions, Pope Francis recalled the intimate and indissoluble bond that unites the proclamation of the Gospel to martyrdom, an experience that always marks and accompanies the story of the Church throughout history. He did it today, Wednesday, April 12, during the General Audience, continuing the cycle of catecheses dedicated to the passion for the proclamation of the Gospel and apostolic zeal. The martyrs are more numerous "in our time than in the first centuries", the Pope repeated once again, paying particular tribute to the memory and names of the Missionary Sisters of Charity slaughtered in Yemen in recent years (see Fides 4 and 5/3/2016).
The word "martyr" - recalled the Pontiff at the beginning of his catechesis, in front of the multitude crowded in St. Peter's Square - derives from the Greek martyria, which indeed means witness. However, "very soon in the Church the word martyr began to be used to indicate those who bore witness to the point of shedding their blood.
The heart and source of martyrdom - continued the Bishop of Rome, citing the sermons dedicated by Saint Augustine to the martyr Saint Lawrence, a Roman deacon - is not an impulse of religious heroism, but a "mystery of love". Saint Augustine often underlines this dynamic of "gratitude and the gratuitous" reciprocation of giving. And "the Second Vatican Council," the Pope remarked, quoting the Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium, "reminds us that by martyrdom a disciple is transformed into an image of his Master by freely accepting death for the salvation of the world – as well as his conformity to Christ in the shedding of his blood, is esteemed by the Church as an exceptional gift and as the fullest proof of love".
Among the characteristics that make Christian martyrdom incomparable to forms of heroism and dedication - Pope Francis in his catechesis remarked that "the martyrs, in imitation of Christ and with his grace, turn the violence of those who refuse the proclamation into a great occasion of love, supreme, which goes as far as forgiveness of their own tormentors". The martyrs - the Pope insisted - always forgive their tormentors. Stephen, the first martyr, died praying, “Lord, forgive them, they know not what they do”. The martyrs pray for their tormentors". And although "only a few are asked for martyrdom", the miracle of forgiveness also offered to their executioners and the martyrs' participation in the mystery of Christ's Passion remind everyone "that every Christian is called to the witness of life, even when this does not go as far as the shedding of blood, making a gift of themselves to God and to their brethren, in imitation of Jesus".
In the concluding part of his catechesis, Pope Francis reminded everyone of the martyrdom witness of the Missionary Sisters of Charity present in Yemen, where they "offer assistance to the elderly sick and to people with disabilities. Some of them have suffered martyrdom, but the others continue, risking their lives, but they keep on going. These sisters welcome everyone, of any religion, because charity and fraternity have no boundaries". In July 1998 - recalled the Bishop of Rome - Sister Aletta, Sister Zelia and Sister Michael, while returning home after Mass, were "killed by a fanatic". In March 2016, Sister Anselm, Sister Marguerite, Sister Reginette and Sister Judith were killed together with some laypeople who helped them in their work of charity among the least. (…) Among these laypeople killed, added Pope Francis, as well as Christians there were some Muslim faithful who worked with the religious sisters. It moves us to see how the witness of blood can unite people of different religions. One should never kill in the name of God, because for Him we are all brothers and sisters. But together one can give one’s life for others. Let us pray, then", concluded the Bishop of Rome, also using expressions taken from the First Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians "so that we may never tire of bearing witness to the Gospel, even in times of tribulation. May all the martyr saints be seeds of peace and reconciliation among peoples, for a more humane and fraternal world, as we await the full manifestation of the Kingdom of Heaven, when God will be all in all". (GV) (Agenzia Fides, 19/4/2023)
