By Gilderious Khonglah csc.
Readings: Dan 5: 1-6, 13-14,16-17,23-28; Lk 21:12-19
Today’s gospel reading reflects the reality of life for many Christians at the time the gospels were written. Bearing witness to Jesus and to his values meant being put on trial by religious and political authorities, leading to imprisonment, and sometimes death. St. Teresa of Avila once said, “We always find that those who walked closest to Christ were those who had to bear the greatest trials.” One of the best ways to fulfil such a witness is through martyrdom, which means being a witness.
Those who suffer persecution for the sake of Christ and respond to that persecution in accordance with the wisdom and inspiration of Jesus are true martyrs. It is important to note that if I am persecuted and respond with anger or return to the violence in accord with my own irrational will, then I am not dying a martyr. Instead, I am simply becoming what I have received: an angry and bitter person. Being a martyr requires both unjust treatment and a response to that mistreatment in accordance with God’s will.
The saint of the day, St. Francisco Anthonio Fasani, who lived in the 18th century encourages me to say, ‘the will of God, that is my Paradise’ as I follow Christ with the readiness to face all kinds of trials that come on my way.