Pope Francis: 'martyrs are the living blood of the
Church'
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Saturday
paid tribute to modern day martyrs whom he said “are the
living blood of the Church".
The Pope was presiding over a Liturgy of the Word at the Church
of St. Bartholomew on the Tiber, a shrine to the martyrs of the 20th and
21st centuries.
Speaking during his homily, the Pope had words
of closeness for the many Christian communities being persecuted today “because
of the hatred of the spirit of this world”.
“How often, he said, in difficult moments of history, have
we heard it said: ‘Today our country needs heroes’.? Likewise, we can ask,
‘Today what does our Church need?’ Martyrs, witnesses, that is, everyday saints
of ordinary life, lives lived coherently; but we also need those who have the
courage to accept the grace to be witnesses until the end, until death”.
He said that martyrs are “the witnesses who carry forward the
Church; those who witness to the fact that Jesus is risen, that Jesus is alive,
who witness to Him with coherent lives and with the strength of the Holy Spirit
they have received as a gift”.
And, speaking off-the-cuff the Pope turned his attention to
refugees who have been forced to flee their homelands because of their faith
and said that many, today, find themselves in refugee camps, many of which he
said, are like concentration camps, while international agreements seem to be
more important than human rights.
Please find below Vatican Radio’s the full translation
of the Pope’s homily:
We have come as pilgrims to this Basilica of St. Bartholomew
on the Tiber Island, where the ancient history of martyrdom joins the memory of
the new martyrs, of many Christians killed by the insane ideologies of the last
century, and killed only because they were disciples of Jesus.
The memory of these heroic, old and recent witnesses
confirms us in the awareness that the Church is a Church of martyrs. And
martyrs are those who, as the Book of Revelation reminds us, "Are the ones
who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and
made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” They had the grace to confess Jesus
until the end, until death. They suffered, they gave their lives, and we
receive the blessing of God for their witness. And there are also many hidden
martyrs, those men and women who are faithful to the gentle strength of love,
to the voice of the Holy Spirit, those who in their daily lives seek to help
their brothers and sisters and to love God without reserve.
If we look hard, we can see that the cause of every
persecution is the hatred of the prince of this world toward those who have
been saved and redeemed by Jesus through His death and resurrection. In the
Gospel we just heard (cf. Jn 15: 12-19), Jesus uses a strong and frightening
word: the word "hatred". He, who is the master of love, who so
enjoyed talking about love, speaks of hatred. But he always liked to call
things by their name. And he tells us, "Do not be afraid! The world will
hate you; but know that before it hated you, it hated me. "
Jesus chose us and redeemed us as a free gift of His love.
With His death and resurrection He redeemed us from the power of the world,
from the power of the devil, from the power of the prince of this world. And
the origin of hatred is this: since we are saved by Jesus, and the prince of
the world does not want that, he hates us and encourages persecution, which
from the time of Jesus and the birth of the Church continues to this day. How
many Christian communities are being persecuted today! Why? Because of the
hatred of the spirit of this world.
How often, in difficult moments of history, have we heard it
said: "Today our country needs heroes."? Likewise, we can ask,
"Today what does our Church need?" Martyrs, witnesses, that is,
everyday saints of ordinary life, lives lived coherently; but we also need
those who have the courage to accept the grace to be witnesses until the end,
until death. All these are the living blood of the Church. They are the
witnesses who carry forward the Church; those who witness to the fact that
Jesus is risen, that Jesus is alive, who witness to Him with coherent lives and
with the strength of the Holy Spirit they have received as a gift.
Remembering these witnesses of the faith and praying in this
place is a great gift. It is a gift for the Community of Sant'Egidio, for the
Church in Rome, for all the Christian communities of this city, and for so many
pilgrims. The living legacy of martyrs today gives us peace and unity. They
teach us that with the strength of love, with gentleness, one can fight against
arrogance, violence, and war - and that peace can be achieved with
patience.
And so we can pray: O Lord, make us worthy witnesses of the
Gospel and of your love; pour out your mercy upon humanity; renew your Church,
protect persecuted Christians, grant peace to the whole world, soon.
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