Jesus talks about a new family of faith that is formed amongst those who follow him. And it is not those who claim him in name only, but those who hear the Word of God and who actively live out those words in their lives. When we think about people who live out their faith in extraordinary ways, we might think about the saints and in particular the martyrs who were willing to give up their lives for their faith. On Sunday, we celebrated some of the Martyrs of the Spanish Civil War, which included many nuns and priests who died from the faith at the hands of the Republican forces during the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s. In fact, in the first year of his papacy, Pope Francis beatified 522 more martyrs from this period in history in a special ceremony in Terragona, Spain. The number of Catholic religious martyred in the Spanish War is staggering, including more than 2,000 monks, more than 4,000 Diocesan priests and seminarians, 13 bishops, and more than 200 nuns. While the saints are such wonderful examples of faith for us, we are all called to be disciples of Christ in the midst of the reality we face in our lives. Living out the faith and being true brothers and sisters of Christ may entail different types of sacrifice and hardship. That is the challenge before us each day – hearing the Word of God and applying it to the way we live our lives.
No comments:
Post a Comment