The is an old German hymn attributed to St. Bede the Venerable entitled The Hymn For Conquering Martyrs Raise. The final verse of this hymn goes like this:
O city blest o’er all the earth,
Who gloriest in the Savior’s birth,
Who are His earliest martyrs dear,
By kindred and by triumph here;
None from henceforth may call thee small,
Of rival towns thou passest all:
In whom our Monarch had His birth,
O city blest o’er all the earth!
Today, Holy Mother Church commemorates the Feast of the First Martyrs of the Church of Rome. These first heroes, the first to imitate Christ's passion, were the ones whose witness convinced many a pagan in Ancient Rome to find something that was greater than themselves, more powerful than their graven idols. These early Christians truly went into battle for their King, and won the victory. However, instead of killing in the name of their King, they gave up their lives in imitation of their God. It was their heroism, it was their Faith, that convinced others to lay down their hedonistic pagan way of life and carry their cross with Jesus Christ.
For a pagan to convert to Christianity at the time was certainly not an easy thing to do. To choose to bow one's head over the baptismal font under the waters of baptism one morning, held the risk of resting one's head on the executioner's block under his axe the next day. However, this was a risk that they chose to take, to ensure that this small sect, deemed dangerous by the Roman Emperor, would live on. Their blood watered the seed, planted by the Gospel, that shook the foundations of the Roman Empire from its core, a shock so strong that the impressive statue of Jupiter amongst the mythological creatures was crushed into dust, conquered and replaced with the image of Christ crucified, bleeding for the sake of man's redemption. The shock has reached the further corners of the earth, trumping cultures and traditions with the Truth and salvation given from Christ through His Church.
Since then, the blood of the martyrs continue to flow in the places where the Christian Church continues to be persecuted, and they continue to this day. Such names as Justin, Cosmas, Damian, Marcellinus, Peter, Agnes, Philomena, and Cecilia, have certainly inspired such names as Goretti, Jägerstätter, Kolbe, Popiełuszko, Pro, Romza, and countless others. They have proven that the victory lies in Christ, not human recognition. They recognized a love greater than themselves, and focused on that crown that gives them eternal recognition of the ultimate love for Christ and for His Church.
Please continue to pray for our persecuted brothers and sisters around the world that they remain steadfast in the Faith.
For Martyrs, who with rapture kindled eye,
Saw the bright crown descending from the sky,
And seeing, grasped it, Thee we glorify.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
No comments:
Post a Comment