Today we celebrate the feast of Japanese martyrs including Paul Miki, Cosala Garcia, Peter Batista and others. They suffered humiliation, torture, and death because of their faith.
Today many people are still persecuted because of their faith. The greatest single number of those undergoing such persecution and even death are Christians.
There is a big difference between being truly and maturely committed to faith and being a zealot or a fanatic.
A true martyr does so because of love. Commitment needs to be done out of love if it is truly Christian.
An attitude of superiority, an attitude where an error has no rights, one that tries to score points or is determined to win at all costs is not healthy and not Christlike.
Great catholic reformers and missionaries like sts Charles Borromeo or Francis de Sales tried to convince them out of love.
Christian leaders are called to be servants ‘washing people’s feet’ in imitation of Jesus.
In our own times, we are called to witness a loving commitment to our faith and the values of Jesus and the church. So many of these values are challenged in our secular and post-Christian society.
We are always called to do so in love... with clarity and convincingly but with love. The method of how we do this needs to be consistent and transparent with this loving message…
