In 1988, Pope John Paul II dedicated this day in November to more than 100,000 Vietnamese martyrs, both named and unnamed. These martyrs lived over the course of many centuries. The first Vietnamese martyrs were Spanish missionaries who arrived in 1580. The Christians were viewed as foreigner invaders and were subject or persecution, torture, and death. Bishops, priests, and lay people are included in this group. St Andrew Dun-Lac was a Vietnamese priest who was born in 1795. After being baptized in the city of Hanoi, where he was trained by a catechist, he decided to become a catechist himself and then was eventually sent to seminary and was ordained as a priest in 1823. In 1832, the emperor expelled all foreign priests from the land and ordered all Christians in the country to renounce their faith. The teaching of Christianity was declared to be against the law. Andrew Dun-Lac was killed after his arrest in 1839. These Vietnamese martyrs stand as a powerful witness of the Catholic faith.
The psalm today speaks about heaven and earth rejoicing in gladness in being a part of creation and in recognizing the Lord as king, about how the Lord will rule in justice. We know, unfortunately, that we human beings often fail in justice. People of faith are often persecuted or treated unfairly. The vulnerable are often not treated with respect. The witness of the martyrs show the sacrifices men and women have made for the faith throughout history. May we be instruments of God’s justice and peace to those around us.
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