The third-century writer, Tertullian wrote: “The blood of martyrs is the seed of Christians.” The feast of Saint Paul Miki and Companions reminds us that the Gospel needs to be proclaimed even in the face of persecution.
Believers need to be will to present themselves to God as whole-burnt
sacrifices, a sweet fragrance before the divine majesty. The city that
had been the target of the second atomic bomb on August 9, 1945 was also the place where Paul Miki and his companions were crucified. As they hung upon their crosses, the Martyrs sang hymns of praise to God. They offered themselves for the glory of God and allowed their lives to be crushed out, just as the sacred elements placed upon the altar are made by the crushing of grapes and the grinding of wheat.
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| Saint Paul Miki and Companions |
Suspended
between heaven and earth, Paul Miki preached the gospel of Jesus
Christ. “The sentence of judgment says these men came to Japan from the
Philippines, but I did not come from any other country. I am a true
Japanese. The only reason for my being killed is that I have taught the
doctrine of Christ. I certainly did teach the doctrine of Christ. I
thank God it is for this reason I die. I believe that I am telling only
the truth before I die. I know you believe me and I want to say to you
all once again: Ask Christ to help you to become happy. I obey Christ.
After Christ’s example I forgive my persecutors. I do not hate them. I
ask God to have pity on all, and I hope my blood will fall on my fellow
men as a fruitful rain.”
The Disciples of Christ must be willing to follow the Master, walking in His footsteps and laying
down their lives for the sake of the Kingdom. By emptying Himself,
Jesus purchased for Himself a peculiar people of priests for His Father.
They were to be zealous in performing good works and supportive of one
another in the bonds of love. When love is genuine, it is active and
life-giving. Love shows itself in praying with and for one another.
Whatever the disciple is as to this life, he considers the favor and
service of God as the one thing needful. This he desires, prays for and
seeks after, and in it he rejoices even when subjected to cruel torture.
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| Pope Francis embracing a 12 year old girl in Manila. She had asked why so many bad things happen to others, especially the children, and could not get her words out until she broke down, weeping. The Pope embraced her and comforted her in silence. |
The crucifixion of
the martyrs and the nuclear holocaust of Nagasaki have led many to
wonder why God allowed these things to happen. Of course, the same "why"
can be asked regarding any difficult circumstance that we see as being contrary to God's loving providence. This question found its way into the deepest recesses of our hearts when Pope Francis embraced a 12 year old girl in Manila. Having traveled through the dark valley they were in, he was sympathetic to her question and simply embraced her in silence. While the question has no answer, it does evoke a response of compassion. "Faith
is not a light which scatters all our darkness, but a lamp which guides
our steps in the night and suffices for the journey. To those who
suffer, God does not provide arguments which explain everything; rather,
his response is that of an accompanying presence, a history of goodness
which touches every story of suffering and opens up a ray of light."
("Lumen Fidei," June 29, 2013).
Let us join in mind and heart with all who suffer as we gather around the Table of the Lord.
--Father Jerome Machar, OSCO
Pope Francis' response to the child's question:
Background information:
Glyzelle Palomar, a one-time
homeless child taken in by a church charity, made her emotional plea
during ceremonies at a Catholic university in Manila, ahead of a mass by
the pope to millions of faithful.
"Many children are abandoned by
their parents. Many children get involved in drugs and prostitution,"
Palomar told the pope as she stood on stage alongside a 14-year-old boy
who also used to be homeless.
"Why does God allow these things to happen to us? The children are not guilty of anything."
Palomar broke down and wept profusely, prompting the 78-year-old
pontiff with a man-of-the-people reputation to take her into his arms
and hug her for a few seconds.
The Pope's reply:
To Jun and Leandro Santos II and to Rikki, thank you very much.
There’s only a very small representation of girls among you. Too little.
Women have much to tell us in today’s society. Sometimes we are too
“machistas” and we don’t allow enough space to women. But women can see
things from a different angle to us, with a different eye. Women are
able to pose questions we men are unable to understand. Look out for
this fact: she is the only one who has put a question for which there is
no answer. She couldn’t put it into words but expressed it with tears.
So when the next pope comes to Manila, please let there be more girls.
I thank you Jun for talking about your experience so bravely. As I
said, the heart of your question has no reply. Only when we too can cry
about the things you said can we come close to answering that question.
Why do children suffer so much? Why do children suffer? When the heart
is able to ask itself and weep, then we can understand something. There
is a worldly compassion which is useless. You expressed something like
this. It’s a compassion that makes us put our hands in our pockets and
give something to the poor. But if Christ had had that kind of
compassion he would have greeted a couple of people, given them
something, and walked on. But it was only when he was able to cry that
he understood something of our lives. Dear young boys and girls, today’s
world doesn’t know how to cry. The emarginated people, those left to
one side, are crying. Those who are discarded are crying. But we don’t
understand much about these people in need. Certain realities of life we
only see through eyes cleansed by our tears. I invite each one here to
ask yourself: have I learned how to weep? Have I learned how to weep for
the emarginated or for a street child who has a drug problem or for an
abused child? Unfortunately there are those who cry because they want
something else.
This is the first thing I want to say: let us learn how to weep as
she has shown us today and let us not forget this lesson. The great
question of why so many children suffer, she did this in tears. The
response that we can make today is: let us really learn how to weep.
In the Gospel, Jesus cried for his dead friend, he cried in his heart
for the family who lost its child, for the poor widow who had to bury
her son. He was moved to tears and compassion when he saw the crowds
without a pastor. If you don’t learn how to cry, you cannot be a good
Christian. This is a challenge. When they posed this question to us, why
children suffer, why this or that tragedy occurs in life – our response
must be either silence or a word that is born of our tears. Be
courageous, don’t be afraid to cry.
