THERE ARE MANY KINDS OF MARTYRDOM
THERE ARE MANY KINDS OF MARTYRDOM
The above title is inspired by St. Ambrose’s commentary on Psalm 118. He writes, “As there are many kinds of persecution, so there are many kinds of martyrdom.” The English word “martyr” is derived from the Greek word μάρτυρας (mártyras), which means “witness.” The Catechism of the Catholic Church describes martyrdom as “the supreme witness given to the truth of the faith: it means bearing witness even unto death” by an act of extraordinary fortitude (#2473). In the Book of Revelation the apostle John has a vision of martyrs in heaven: “When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne.” When they asked when their blood will be avenged, “they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been” (Rev 6:9-11). Thus, there will be martyrs until the day when Christ returns in glory.
When we think of martyrs we usually think of a violent death, such as that suffered by the first Christians of Rome who were thrown to hungry lions in the Coliseum or burned on stakes to serve as illumination at night. We think of the deaths of saints like Lucy and Cecilia, who were finally beheaded after other attempts to kill them failed. We think of martyrs like Father Miguel Augustin Pro, who was executed by a firing squad with his hands outstretched in the form of a cross, and of Father Maximilian Kolbe, who was finally killed by a poisonous injection after his captors felt that he took too long to die by starvation. The means of martyrdom in the history of the Church are numerous.
However, there is a different kind of martyrdom about which St. Ambrose wrote – an interior martyrdom. This is suffered by every sincere follower of Christ. “You were tempted by the spirit of fornication, but feared the coming judgment of Christ and did not want your purity of mind and body to be defiled: you are a martyr for Christ...You were tempted by the spirit of pride but saw the poor and the needy and looked with loving compassion on them, and loved humility rather than arrogance: you are a witness for Christ.” We fight the battle against temptation within, so that our actions support our words and we become true witnesses, true martyrs of Christ. “How many hidden martyrs there are, bearing witness to Christ each day and acknowledging Jesus as the Lord...Be faithful and courageous when you are persecuted within, so that you may win approval when you are persecuted in public. Even in those unseen persecutions there are kings and governors, judges with terrible power.” St. Ambrose quotes St. Paul and tells us, “Do not let sin be king in your mortal bodies” (Rom 6:12). By the grace of God we have power over those rulers.
St. Ambrose writes that “There are as many kings as there are sins and vices.” We stand before them, as it were, as the apostles and martyrs stood before kings and judges in court. “These kings have thrones in many hearts. But if anyone acknowledges Christ, he immediately makes a prisoner of this kind of king and casts him down from the throne of his own heart. How shall the devil maintain his throne in one who builds a throne for Christ in his heart?” Some soon-to-be martyrs were grateful that they were chosen to give up their lives in witness to Christ. Most of us will not face that option, but we do face the persecutors within – sins and vices – who seek to cause us to deny Christ. We can become authentic martyrs by striking them down by the power of God, in the grace of the Holy Spirit. If we do, we will join the army of martyrs, confessors, and saints in heaven, and celebrate with them the victory of God.
When we think of martyrs we usually think of a violent death, such as that suffered by the first Christians of Rome who were thrown to hungry lions in the Coliseum or burned on stakes to serve as illumination at night. We think of the deaths of saints like Lucy and Cecilia, who were finally beheaded after other attempts to kill them failed. We think of martyrs like Father Miguel Augustin Pro, who was executed by a firing squad with his hands outstretched in the form of a cross, and of Father Maximilian Kolbe, who was finally killed by a poisonous injection after his captors felt that he took too long to die by starvation. The means of martyrdom in the history of the Church are numerous.
However, there is a different kind of martyrdom about which St. Ambrose wrote – an interior martyrdom. This is suffered by every sincere follower of Christ. “You were tempted by the spirit of fornication, but feared the coming judgment of Christ and did not want your purity of mind and body to be defiled: you are a martyr for Christ...You were tempted by the spirit of pride but saw the poor and the needy and looked with loving compassion on them, and loved humility rather than arrogance: you are a witness for Christ.” We fight the battle against temptation within, so that our actions support our words and we become true witnesses, true martyrs of Christ. “How many hidden martyrs there are, bearing witness to Christ each day and acknowledging Jesus as the Lord...Be faithful and courageous when you are persecuted within, so that you may win approval when you are persecuted in public. Even in those unseen persecutions there are kings and governors, judges with terrible power.” St. Ambrose quotes St. Paul and tells us, “Do not let sin be king in your mortal bodies” (Rom 6:12). By the grace of God we have power over those rulers.
St. Ambrose writes that “There are as many kings as there are sins and vices.” We stand before them, as it were, as the apostles and martyrs stood before kings and judges in court. “These kings have thrones in many hearts. But if anyone acknowledges Christ, he immediately makes a prisoner of this kind of king and casts him down from the throne of his own heart. How shall the devil maintain his throne in one who builds a throne for Christ in his heart?” Some soon-to-be martyrs were grateful that they were chosen to give up their lives in witness to Christ. Most of us will not face that option, but we do face the persecutors within – sins and vices – who seek to cause us to deny Christ. We can become authentic martyrs by striking them down by the power of God, in the grace of the Holy Spirit. If we do, we will join the army of martyrs, confessors, and saints in heaven, and celebrate with them the victory of God.
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