TRIBUTE TO THE
MARTYR SAINTS
GREETINGS OF
HIS HOLINESS
Martyrs’ Monument
- Nishizaka Hill (Nagasaki)
Sunday, 24 November 2019
Sunday, 24 November 2019
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Good morning!
I have very much looked forward to this moment. I have come
here as a pilgrim to pray, to confirm you in the faith, and to be confirmed by
the faith of these brothers and sisters who by their witness and devotion light
up our path. I thank all of you for your warm welcome.
This shrine bears the images and names of Christians who
were martyred long ago, starting with Paul Miki and his companions on 5
February 1597, and a host of other martyrs who consecrated this ground by their
suffering and their death.
However, this shrine does more than speak of death; it also
speaks of the triumph of life over death. Saint John Paul II saw
this place not simply as the mount of the martyrs but a true Mount of
the Beatitudes, where our hearts can be stirred by the witness of men and
women filled with the Holy Spirit and set free from selfishness, complacency
and pride (cf. Gaudete
et Exsultate, 65). For here the light of the Gospel shone forth in the
love that triumphed over persecution and the sword.
This shrine is above all a monument to Easter, for it
proclaims that the last word – despite all evidence to the contrary – belongs
not to death but to life. We are not destined for death but for the fullness of
life. This was the message the martyrs proclaimed. Yes, here we see the darkness
of death and martyrdom, but also the light of the resurrection, as the blood of
the martyrs becomes the seed of the new life that Jesus wishes to bestow on us.
Their witness confirms us in faith and helps us to renew our dedication and
commitment to that missionary discipleship which strives to create a culture
capable of protecting and defending all life through the daily “martyrdom” of
silent service towards all, especially those in greatest need.
I have come to this monument of the martyrs to pay homage to
these holy men and women. But I also come in humility, as one who himself, as a
young Jesuit from “the ends of the earth”, found powerful inspiration in the
story of the early missionaries and the Japanese martyrs. May we never forget
their heroic sacrifice! May it not remain as a glorious relic of the past, to
be kept and honored in a museum, but rather as a living memory, an inspiration
for the works of the apostolate and a spur to renewed evangelization in this
land. May the Church in the Japan of our own day, amid all its difficulties and
signs of hope, feel called to hear anew each day the message proclaimed by
Saint Paul Miki from the cross, and share with all men and women the joy and
the beauty of the Gospel which is the way of truth and life (cf. Jn 14:6).
May we free ourselves daily from whatever weighs us down and prevents us from
walking in humility, freedom, parrhesia and charity.
Brothers and sisters, in this place we are united with those
Christians throughout the world who, in our own day, suffer martyrdom for the
faith. They are the martyrs of the twenty-first century and their witness
summons us to set out with courage on the path of the Beatitudes. Let us pray
with them and for them. Let us speak out and insist that religious freedom be
guaranteed for everyone in every part of our world. Let us also condemn the
manipulation of religions through “policies of extremism and division, by
systems of unrestrained profit or by hateful ideological tendencies that
manipulate the actions and the future of men and women” (Document
on Human Fraternity, Abu Dhabi, 4 February 2019).
Let us ask Our Lady, Queen of Martyrs, Saint Paul Miki and
all his companions, who throughout history have proclaimed by their lives the
wonders of the Lord, to pray for your country and for the whole Church. May
their witness awaken and sustain in all of us the joy of the mission.
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