Martyrdom and Charism — The Ransom of Christian Captives

Are we Christians headed toward persecution in the United States? This and many questions are raised and discussed in the following paraphrased transcription of the below video talk, given by Fr. Joseph Eddy, O. de M. The first part is an introduction to the Mercedarians’ fourth vow, and afterwards Father takes a deeper look at white & red martyrdom.

Martyrdom is something that’s ever ancient and ever new. A charism is a spirit that the founder had when the community was started. The community starts under the bishop. It’s a slow process leading to pontifical approbation.

A charism is living Christ’s life. It is an aspect of Christ’s life that has been given to its founder. His/Her daughters or his sons carry the charism on for the length of the community’s existence.

Captive for Christ

The Order of Mercy was founded in the twelfth century. At that time the Muslims were creeping in. The purpose of the Crusades was to do something about this and prevent Europe from being taken over. Many people were taken captive… Imagine if your cousins or uncles were taken away – they just disappeared. The captives were probably taken to north Africa. Imagine the opening scene from Les Miserables, where the prisoners are working on a chain gang.

If the captives renounce their Christian faith, they can move up in society. Perhaps they would not have to work in a chain gang any more. There was great pressure to leave the faith.

Our founder Peter Nolasco was a merchant. As he went into the African areas – the Muslim-controlled territories – he would sell his goods. As he did this, he would see his fellow Christians who were suffering. He was cut to the heart by this suffering.

The real reason Peter mourned the captives was because of their loss of faith. He saw that they were losing their eternal salvation. He began collecting his money to buy them back. He gave all his property away. Although he was not a wealthy man, he was very shrewd. He was also a strong man, and a humble man, and these virtues helped him a lot.

It was not long before others came to follow him. Most people do not start out with the idea to start a religious community. Likewise, in Peter’s case it was, “I am going to help these people,” and others followed him.

“He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives” (Luke 4:18)

But he was soon criticized. Others thought he was creating a market for the Christian captives. Greatly hurt, St. Peter took the matter to prayer. In a vision, Mary appeared to him, telling him that Christ desired that he found a community dedicated to ransoming these Christian captives. With the support of the king and the bishop, St. Peter began the Mercedarian Order, sending his friars – two at a time – to ransom the Christians, who would return, still in their chains, to Spain.

Our charism is the fourth vow – if necessary, we would give up our own life to save someone in danger of losing their faith. On occasion, the friars would take the places of those in captivity, exchanging their freedom for the prisoners’ freedom.

In Saracen lands, opposition was everywhere for the first Mercedarians. They were slapped, stoned, beaten, wounded, and dragged through the streets. In their first century, their white habits bore witness to the blood of over one hundred martyrs.

St. Serapion was Irish by birth, born around 1179. He was enlisted as a soldier in the service of Richard the Lionhearted, and later Alfonso VIII who was fighting the Muslims in Spain. There he met Peter Nolasco, and joined the order. Eventually, he was one of the two friars chosen to take part in the ransom mission. There was not enough ransom money, so Serapion offered to stay behind if the remaining captives were freed. While the Mercedarians rushed to collect money for Serapion’s own ransom, the Muslims grew impatient, and crucified the saint. He was declared a martyr, and is the patron saint of the sick.

“To bear witness to the light” (John 1:7)

The term for martyr comes from the Greek word meaning “to bear witness.” A witness testifies to a fact that they have seen and experienced. The reality of the early Church was that witnesses to Christ could easily be imprisoned or killed.

Once again we are seeing this in Iraq, parts of Africa, and China. Every single day, Christians in the early Church faced death, and all the apostles, except John, suffered a martyr’s death. At the crucifixion of Christ, Mary’s heart was “pierced with a sword.” At her side was St. John, who suffered his “white martyrdom,” or spiritual martyrdom, as well.

Today’s martyrs are those who have never seen the risen Christ, but are so firmly convinced of the truth of Christianity that they gladly suffer death rather than deny these truths. In our Order, thirty-three Mercedarian friars were martyred during the Spanish Civil War – 18 of whom have already been canonized, and the rest are going through the process.

Lumen Gentium says,

Since Jesus, the Son of God, manifested His charity by laying down His life for us, so too no one has greater love than he who lays down his life for Christ and His brothers. From the earliest times, then, some Christians have been called upon — and some will always be called upon — to give the supreme testimony of this love to all men, but especially to persecutors. The Church, then, considers martyrdom as an exceptional gift and as the fullest proof of love. By martyrdom a disciple is transformed into an image of his Master by freely accepting death for the salvation of the world — as well as his conformity to Christ in the shedding of his blood. Though few are presented such an opportunity, nevertheless all must be prepared to confess Christ before men. They must be prepared to make this profession of faith even in the midst of persecutions, which will never be lacking to the Church, in following the way of the cross. (no. 42)

This time period is heading towards the possibility of persecution in the United States. We may believe we could never have ISIS here, yet we have on demand abortion clinics, same-sex marriage, and other open affronts to Catholicism, to the point that the culture tells us, “you can’t believe same-sex marriage is wrong,” and “you can’t tell a women abortion is wrong.”

Living the fourth vow would be impossible without the virtues. We are called to give Christ’s witness to the culture. Both white martyrdom (spiritual) and red martyrdom (by blood) are great gifts to God. White martyrdom prepares us to be open and ready for the possibility of martyrdom by blood – the ultimate sacrifice which unites us to Christ on the cross. The virtues of generosity, self-giving, and courage are necessary, and one must die to self daily.

An offering of self

By Baptism we share the role of priest, prophet, and king. As priests, we are called to offer sacrifice for the salvation of the world. (Romans 12 … “I appeal to you brethren… offer yourselves to God”) All our daily activities and hardships — if borne patiently — can be offered as a spiritual sacrifice, united to the sacrifice of the Mass. We offer ourselves as Mary did — she is the perfect example of white martyrdom. She gives her total Yes at the Annunciation and never takes it back, even when told by Simeon that a sword would pierce her heart. We give our “yes” at Baptism, Confirmation, and each time we receive the Eucharist. Like Mary standing at the foot of the cross, we stand at the foot of the altar, and give our “amen” at every Mass.

As prophets, we are called to be teachers — spreading the Gospel by our lives and words. Confirmation gives us a special strength to witness to the Gospel, as well as holding us to a higher standard to do so.

By sharing in Christ’s kingship, we realize that to be a king is to serve. In married life it is for your family, as a priest, your flock, in religious life for your community. Christ is the perfect king who laid down his life for his subjects. When we perform works of mercy, we are serving others as Christ did.

By sharing daily in the role of priest, prophet, and king, we build up virtue to prepare for the possible crown of martyrdom. The Mercedarians’ fourth vow to offer one’s life if necessary, reminds us that our lives are important and should not be thrown away. The early Church actually had the problem where people would go out of their way to look for martyrdom!

Definition of Martyr

U. of Florida Newman Center

Mercedarian Martyrs Among those Beatified as Witnesses to Christ’s Redeeming Love

Have you ever wondered whether you would have the strength to face martyrdom?

Hundreds of men and women faced that challenge not too many years ago in Spain, and they valiantly gave up their lives rather than deny their holy faith.

On October 13th, five hundred and twenty-two worthy Catholics were beatified in Tarragona, Spain for their martyrdom during the Spanish Civil war. It was during the already bloody war that the period known as the Red Terror began in 1934. Violence began when thirty-seven seminarians, priests, and brothers were killed for holding firm to the Catholic faith.

The violence quickly escalated. As anti-Catholic sentiments were fueled, Churches were burned, and sacred religious items such as tabernacles, altars, and statues were desecrated. Perpetrators did their best to erase Catholicism from Spain.

Among those martyrs declared blessed were nineteen friars of the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy. Following the example of Fr. Mariano Alcala Perez – the former Master General of the Order – they remained steadfast to the Church unto death. With the spiritual life of Spain under attack, the Mercedarian friars held a special mission due to their fourth vow, “to be willing to offer their lives for those in danger of losing the faith.”

From as early as the Order’s genesis in 1218, the Mercedarian friars have valued their own lives secondary to the salvation of others. Again, during the Red Terror, these priests and brothers administered the sacraments and preached the Good News in the face of violent persecution.

Active Participation in Christ’s Sacrifice

So great was their sacrifice, that it bears repeating, that these martyrs were honored not as casualties of the war, but as Catholics singled out and killed for their Catholic faith during Spain’s oppressive regime. Although some were offered mercy if they denied the Church, they willingly gave their lives for the the greater glory of Christ’s kingdom. According to the witness of those present, their final words were the proud cry of “Long live Christ the King!”

Sunday’s Beatification Mass was held in Tarragona, Spain, and presided over by Cardinal Angelo Amato of the Holy See. The Cardinal spoke of the modern message given to us by the martyrs, the elimination of rancor and hatred, replaced by forgiveness, as well as conversion of the heart.

The Cardinal remarked, “With their charity, the martyrs opposed the rage of evil, as a powerful wall opposed the monstrous violence of a tsunami. By their gentleness, the martyrs deactivated the homicidal weapons of tyrants and executioners, conquering evil with good. They are always actual prophets of peace in the world.”

What better witness to God’s mercy is there than the persecuted forgiving their
tormentors? This symbolizes in a special way, the charism and mission of the Order of Mercy. Surrounded by the violence of death, the light of Christ’s redeeming love shines forth brightly from his faithful servants, these Mercedarian friars.

The Martyrs Forgave their Persecutors, and So Do We

Homily of His Excellency,

Jaume Pujol Balcells

Archbishop of Tarragona, Spain

We celebrate the first Vespers of Sunday. Sunday, says St. Jerome, is “the day of the Resurrection, the day of the Christians, our day.” [1] In the late afternoon of Good Friday, our Lord died with the Psalms of his people on the lips and introduced “into this earthly exile that hymn which is sung throughout all ages in the halls of heaven. He joins the entire community of mankind to Himself, associating it with His own singing of this canticle of divine praise” (Sacrosanctum Concilium, n. 83). We offer with joy this evening sacrifice, united to the Lord Jesus.

Pope Francis on screen, canonization — Pope Francis delivers his welcome message on the giant screen during the canonization.

Sunday shines more than the other days, but on [this] Sunday, the glory of the Lord shines in a special way in his martyrs. They ennoble the holy Churches of the Lord. The martyrs demonstrate the power of God’s grace and presence of the Holy Spirit, because no one can say Jesus is Lord except by the gift of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 12.3). They are the witnesses of the Lord. And his martyrdom is “praise and glory of grace” (Eph 1.6). So they glorify the King of martyrs as he [the Lord] is the cause and foundation of Christian martyrdom. He is “the faithful witness” (Rev 1:5). His life and death are an Easter proclamation that “the birthday of the saints, the Church proclaims the paschal mystery in the saints who suffered with Christ and have been glorified with him” (Vatican II, Sacrosanctum Concilium, n. 104).

This Church of Tarragona, ecclesia Pauli, sedes Fructuosi, receives you all with affection and joy and gives to you all the kiss of peace and of communion.

In the first place, greetings to Cardinal Angelo Amato, who tomorrow morning, in the name of the Holy Father, Pope Francis, will proclaim the blessedness of this great multitude of brothers. Greetings to the Cardinals, to my brother Bishops. Also, to you, dear priests and deacons. To you dear Religious Brothers and Sisters, joyful because of the glorification of your brothers and sisters. To all the holy people of God, who with praise and joy, venerate and celebrate the glory of the martyrs. Peace to all. Let us all be joyful in the Lord and may the gesture of the venerable and ancient Lucenaria be eloquently put: Lumen Christi cum pace! We radiate, brothers and sisters, this light bearer of peace. The joyous peace of the disciples of Christ, that he has given us and that nothing or no one can take from us.

The glorification of our brothers and sisters, as I wrote in my pastoral letter, is not made against anyone nor even in the favor of anyone. The martyrs are of the Lord, belong to the victory of the Lord, and not of that of men. They are an annunciation of peace and of reconciliation. It is simply the Church that, returning to the tradition of the first centuries, cannot forget those who died for the Lord and for the Gospel. They were written in the book of Truth by their blood. They are those that followed the Lord intimately. As we have heard in the Canticle of this Vespers service: “Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow in his footsteps” (1 P 2:21).

When our martyrs are beatified tomorrow in the Sunday liturgy, none of us will experience one iota of resentment for those who persecuted them. Neither shall we have the satisfaction of having an act of historic justice done in a worldly way. How can we not forgive if all of them died, in imitation of the Lord, with words of forgiveness on their lips? The first fruit, one could say, the first grace of these new martyrs, would be the grace of forgiveness and reconciliation. The Lord redeems the whole of history always, and these, the martyrs, redeemed with their silent immolation, that story of death, shameful. The Lord looks with compassion on one side and the other, the Lord looks with compassion on both the executioners as on those who died. The ultimate gaze of the martyrs was this: a gaze that forgave. May this gaze also be our gaze.

Martyrdom is the most perfect expression of faith, of hope, and of charity. The martyr, in his total commitment to God loves the Lord in the most intense and possible form, with whole heart and as the only thing needed. He humbly experiences and accepts his total nothingness and the absolute necessity to be sustained by grace, he deeply obeys the will of God and freely allows himself to be stripped of all he possesses in the world, including his own life, so participating in the poverty of Christ on the Cross.

We evoke, then, with an immense and tender love, the biographies of our martyrs. All were men and women of God, who, in sanquine, “washed their garments in the blood of the Lamb.” First to our brother bishops of Lleida, Salvi Huix, the bishop of Jaén, Manuel Basulto, and are beloved Manue Borràs, auxiliary bishop of this archdiocese, and many brother priests who lived their martyrdom as the last Eucharist, offered not in the sacrament, but in their own person. Of some manner, one can say that they received the martyrdom in persona Christi for the grace they had received in their priestly ordination.

Next, to our Religious Brothers and Sisters who brought to fulfillment the proper charisms and initialed their act of profession with their own blood. They proclaim how each charism can be lived to the point of giving one’s own life.

Then, to the seven lay martyrs, worthy representatives of the holy people of the Lord. As it is said in the preface of the saints: for in crowning their merits, You crown the gifts You have given them.

It is characteristic of Christians to leave the past, they have been glorified and my predecessor in this headquarters, the venerable Cardinal Vidal i Barraquer Fransec D’Assis, from exile, with sadness and deep conviction, writes: “I console them did not miss God’s mercy. “they live in Christ and in the communion of saints intercede for us,” his death was a gain. “For us to live in the present, a present that is always time for Christians of grace.

Let us put ourselves in tune and in obedience to our Holy Father Francis. He so insistently tells us that the Church is not self-referential from the Church of the Lord. Certainly, it is not the Church that glorifies her saints. It is the Lord who does it! There must not be even a hint of self-glorification present among us this Sunday. We should be the Church that participates in the mission and in obedience to the Son, who with the strength of the Holy Spirit goes out of herself and wants to be radiant with the light of the Lord of glory, that destroys and unmasks all the darkness of the world. And that comes humbly to meet a society where men need a greater love, where the poor are to be loved and the Church should have in her a celebration of life, since Christianity is an affirmation of life. An announcement of the saving love, from the conviction that there is no human existence is not loved by God.

And for another part, our martyrs were not ashamed of their baptism, their priestly condition, their religious consecration or their being Christians, Catholics. In a limited moment they did not hide or renege their condition. I ask the Lord, through the intercession of our martyrs, that our Christians may leave all anonymity, they don’t hid the treasure of the faith, that they may be a light in the bushel to illuminate all. Never shameful of the faith! The world needs these Christians! “The world needs evangelists, who are not sad or discouraged, impatient or anxious, but servants of the Gospel, whose life radiated the fervor of who they have received, before all in themselves, the joy of Christ.”²

Whoever expressed our feelings better than anyone else is the Blessed Virgin Mary. She is the soloist of the people of God. She gives soul and song to the Church and is it now we will sing in the Magnificat: “The Lord has remembered Abraham and his descendants forever.” Yes, the Lord’s mercy to our martyrs accompanied in the dark hour of the day of his martyrdom, and gave them a glimpse of the dawn of the Day of Resurrection. The Lord accompanies us. He always ” leads to his Church to perfection through love”. The Lord be with those who will come after us and believe in Christ. It is the mystery of the Church, earthly and heavenly, glorious and pilgrim. The Saints are the first fruits of the heavenly Jerusalem. It ecclesial communion, is the mystery of Pentecost: ” One Lord, one faith, one God and Father.” The martyrs help us live this ecclesial communion. Let us rejoice in the Lord, as said the Bishop of Tarragona, holy Fructuoso moments before his cruel martyrdom of 259 January 21: ” I’ll never go without mercy and the promise of the Lord in this world and the other.” Amen.

+Jaume Pujol Balcells

Metropolitan Archbishop and Primate of Tarragona

Tarragona, October 12, 2013

1.) In die dominica paschae, CCL 78 (1958) 550

2.) Pablo VI, Exhort, ap. Sinodal, Evangelii nuntiandi, 80

Great Signs of Holiness in the Face of Martyrdom

Homily of His Excellency,

Angelo Cardinal Amato,

Prefect of the Congregation of the Causes of the Saints,

Mass of Beatification

1. The Spanish Church celebrates today the beatification of 522 martyr sons, disarmed prophets of the charity of Christ. It is an extraordinary event of grace that removes all sadness and fills the Christian community with joy. Today we remember their sacrifice with gratitude, that it is a concrete manifestation of the civilization of love preached by Jesus: “Now,” as it says in the Book of Revelation by St. John, “have salvation and power come, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Anointed” (Rev. 12:10). The martyrs have not been ashamed of the Gospel, but have remained faithful to Christ, who says: “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.” (Luke 9:23-24) They were buried with Christ in death, with Him they live through the faith in the power of God (cf. Col. 2:12).

Spain is a land blessed by the blood of the martyrs. If we simply [count] the heroic witnesses of the faith, victims of the religious persecution of the 1930’s, the Church in 14 different ceremonies has beatified more than a thousand. The first, in 1987, was the beatification of three Discalced Carmelites of Guadalajara. Between the more numerous ceremonies, we remember those of March 11, 2001, with 233 martyrs; that of October 28, 2007, with 498 martyrs, among whom were the bishops of Ciudad Real and of Cuenca; and that celebrated in the cathedral of the Almudena in Madrid, December 17, 2011, with 23 witnesses of the faith.

Today, here in Tarragona, Pope Francis beatifies 522 martyrs, who “dealt their blood to bear witness to the Lord Jesus” (Apostolic Letter). It is the greatest ceremony of beatification that has been on Spanish land. this last group includes three bishops Manuel Basulto Jiménez, Bishop of Jaén; Salvio Huix Mirapeix, Bishop of Lleida and Manuel Borrás Ferré, Auxiliary Bishop of Tarragona–and, furthermore, numerous priests, seminarians, consecrated men and women, young and old, fathers and mothers of families. They are all innocent victims who endured prisons, tortures, unjust processes, humiliations, and indescribable ordeals. It is an immense army of baptized that, with the white robes of charity, followed Christ to Calvary in order to be resurrected with him in the glory of the heavenly Jerusalem.

2. In the obscure period of the anti-Catholic hostility of the 1930’s, your noble nation was enveloped in the diabolic fog of an ideology, that overturned thousands and thousands of peaceful citizens, burning churchs and religious symbols, closed convents and Catholic schools, destroying part of your precious artistic patrimony. Pope Pius XI with the encyclical Dilectissima nobis on June 3, 1933, energetically denounced this libertine anti-religious policy.

We remember beforehand that the martyrs were not casualties of the civil war, but victims of a radical religious persecution, that proposed the programmed extermination of the Church. These brothers and sisters were not combatants, did not have arms, were not encountered on the front, did not support either side, were not provocateurs. They were peaceful men and women. They were killed out of hatred for the faith, only because they were Catholics, because they were priests, because they were seminarians, because they were religious brothers, because they were religious sisters, because they believed in God, because they had Jesus as their only treasure, and loved him more than their own life. They did not hate anyone, [but] loved everyone, doing good to all. Their apostolate was catechesis in the parishes, teaching in the schools, caring for the sick, charity for the poor, the assistance of the elderly and marginalized. To the atrocity of the persecutors, they did not respond with rebellion or with arms, but with the gentleness of the strong.

In this period, while they were found in exile, Don Luigi Sruazo, a Catholic, Italian diplomat and priest, in an article from 1933, published in the newspaper, El Mati of Barcelona, wrote with prophetic intuition, that the modern ideologies are truly idolatrous religions, that require altars and victims, especially victims, thousands and even millions. He added that the aberrant increase of the violence towards the victims were much more numerous than even the Roman persecutions.²

3. Dear brothers, before the valiant and unanimous answer of these martyrs, above all of the many priests and seminarians, I have often wondered: how does one explain their superhuman strength to prefer death before reneging their own faith in God? Moreover of the efficacy of divine grace, the answer lies in a good preparation for the priesthood. The in the years before the persecution, in the seminaries and in the houses of [Religious] formation they were clearly informed of the mortal danger they were to meet. There were prepared spiritually in order to face even death through their vocation. It was truly a pedagogy of martyrdom that made these young men and women strong and even joyful in their supreme testimony.

4. Now let us ask a question: Why does the Church beatify these martyrs? The answer is simple: the Church does not want to forget these her valiant children. The Church honors them with public worship, so that their intercession may obtain from the Lord a beneficial rain of spiritual and temporal graces in all of Spain. The Church, a house of forgiveness, does not look for culprits. She wants to glorify these heroic witnesses of the gospel of charity because they deserve admiration and imitation.

Today’s celebration wants to scream again loudly to the world, that humanity needs peace, fraternity, peace. No one can justify war, fratricidal hatred, the death of the neighbor. With their charity, the martyrs opposed the rage of evil, as a powerful wall opposed the monstrous violence of a tsunami. By their gentleness, the martyrs deactivated the homicidal weapons of tyrants and executioners, conquering evil with good. They are always actual prophets of peace in the world

5. Now a second question: Why does the beatification of the martyrs from many Spanish dioceses come about here in Tarragona?

There are two reasons. Before all else, the most numerous group of martyrs is from this ancient Spanish diocese, with 147 martyrs, including the auxiliary bishop Manuel Borrás Ferré and the young seminarians Ioan Montpeó Masip, [who was] 20 years old, and Josep Gassol Montseny, [who was] 22.

The second reason comes from the fact that, in the first centuries of Christianity, here in Tarragona, ecclesia Pauli, sede Fructuosi, patria martyrum, the bishop Fructuoso and his two deacons, Auguio and Eulogio, were martyred, burned alive in the year 259 A.D. in the city’s Roman amphitheater.

We briefly remember the martyrdom of these first two Tarragonese witnesses, because it re-proposed the essential dynamic of all persecution, that, for a moment, shows the arbitrariness of the charges, and the atrocity of the tortures, and for another, the superhuman strength of the martyrs in accepting the passion and the death with serenity and with forgiveness on the lips.

Tarragona, the See of a flourishing Christian community during the Third Century AD, was the object of a violent persecution, by order of the emperor Valerian. Bishop Fructuoso and the deacons Augurio and Eulogio were victims of this persecution. From their martyrdom we have the Actos, that transmit to us the notary protocols of the trial, of the interrogation, of the answers, of the condemnation and the execution.³ The capture of Fructuoso and his deacons took place on Sunday morning, January 16, 259. Taken to jail, Fructuoso continually prayed and gave thanks to the Lord for the grace of martyrdom. Furthermore, he also continued his work as pastor and evangelist, comforting the faithful, baptizing and proclaiming the Gospel to the pagans. After some days, on the 21st of January, the three were summoned by the consul Emiliano for interrogation. Fructuoso and the two deacons refused to offer sacrifices to the idols, reaffirming their fidelity to Christ. The three were then condemned to be burnt alive. Brought to the amphitheater, the holy Bishop shouted that the Church would never be left without a pastor and that God would keep his promise of protecting it in the future.

6. What message do the ancient and modern martyrs offer us? They leave us a double message. Before all, they invite up to forgive. Pope Francis recently has reminded us that “the joy of God is forgiving!…Here! The whole Gospel, all of Christianity, is here! But make sure that it is not sentiment, it is not being a “do-gooder”! On the contrary, mercy is the true force that can save man and the world from the “cancer” that is sin, moral evil, spiritual evil. Only love fills the void, the negative chasms that evil opens in hearts and in history. Only love can do this, and this is God’s joy!”⁴

We are called then to the joy of forgiveness, to eliminate from the mind and the heart the sorry of rancor and of hatred. Jesus said “Be merciful, just as (also) your Father is merciful” (Lk. 6:36). We should make a concrete examen, now, about our will to forgive. Pope Francis suggests: “think of a person with whom we are annoyed, with whom we are angry, someone we do not like. Let us think of that person and in silence, at this moment, let us pray for this person and let us become merciful with this person.”⁵

Today’s celebration may be, then, the feast of reconciliation, of forgiveness given and received, the triumph of the Lord of Peace.

Mercedarian friars from the US — Mercedarian friars from the United States during the canonization.

7. This raises the second message: the conversion of the heart to goodness and mercy. We are all invited to convert ourselves to the good, not only to those who are declared as Christians, but also those who are not. The Church also invites the persecutors to not fear conversion, to not be afraid of the good, to reject evil. The Lord is a good father who forgives and welcomes with open arms, his prodigal sons from the ways of evil and sin.

Everyone [of us]–good and bad–needs conversion. We all are called to convert ourselves to the peace, to fraternity, to respect the liberty of others, to serenity in human relations. So have our martyrs acted, so have the saints worked, that–as said Pope Francis following “the way of conversion, the way of humility, of love, of the heart, the way of beauty.”⁶

It is a message that concerns all the youth, calling them to live with fidelity and joy the Christian life. But that is going against the current: “to go against the current; this is good for the heart, but we need courage to swim against the tide. Jesus gives us this courage! There are no difficulties, trials or misunderstandings to fear, provided we remain united to God as branches to the vine, provided we do not lose our friendship with him, provided we make ever more room for him in our lives. This is especially so whenever we feel poor, weak and sinful, because God grants strength to our weakness, riches to our poverty, conversion and forgiveness to our sinfulness.”⁷

So the martyrs have behaved, young and old. Yes, also youth such as, for example, the seminarians of the Diocese of Tarragona and of Jaén and the twenty-one year old layman of the Diocese of Tarragona. The have not been afraid of death, because their gaze was projected toward heaven, toward the joy of eternity without end in the charity of God. If they lacked the mercy of men, God’s mercy was present and overflowing.

Forgiveness and conversion are the gifts that make us all martyrs. Forgiveness brings peace to the hearts, the conversion creates fellowship with others.

Our Martyrs, messengers of life and death, are our intercessors for a life of peace and brotherhood. May this be the precious fruit of this celebration in the Year of Faith.

May Mary, Regina Martyrum, remain the powerful Help of Christians.

Amen.

+Angelo Cardinal Amato

Prefect of the Congregation of the Causes of the Saints

Tarragona, Spain,

October 13, 2013

1.) Pronounced in Tarragona, Spain, on October 13, 2013

2.) Luigi Sruazo, Miscellanea londinese, vol. II, Anni 1931-1933, Bologna 1967, pg. 286. Article was published in El Matí of Barcelona, December 19, 1933.

3.) See the brochure very well documented PEDRO BATTLE y HUGUET, Santos Fructuoso Obispo de Tarragona y Auguri y Eulogio diáconos. Actas de las of Martyrdom, Tarragona, 1959. These Acts were also known outside the church Tarragonese. For example, the Spanish poet Aurelius Prudentius, made a detailed and faithful translation of his hymn VI Peri stephanon or Book of crowns. The same St. Augustine in the sermon of the day of the feast of Saints he comments on the text.

4.) Pope Francis, Angelus, September 15, 2013.

5.) lb.

6.) Pope Francis, Meditation, April 19, 2013.

7.) Pope Francis, Homily, April 28, 2013.

“Long Live Christ the King”-The Background and Story of the Spanish Civil War Martyrs

Sunday, October 13th nineteen Mercedarians will be declared blessed and martyrs of the Spanish Civil War. Few here in the United States realize how horrific this event called “the Red Terror” truly was or the reasoning behind it. In this short article, we can see the background which lead to the persecution and witness accounts of the actual martyrs.

They were conformed to Jesus' death — They were conformed to Jesus’ death

The roots of the persecution of the Church was a slow process which began with a great anticlerical movement in the 19th century. In 19th century Spain the Church was closely linked to the monarchy by means of concordats. Catholicism was, in practice, the state religion, like the Orthodox religion in Greece and Romania and Anglicanism in England. The Republicans had built up so much hatred for the monarchy and everything relating to it, the Church included, that, once they seized power, they began to hit their enemies. Their first and easiest target was the Church, being defenseless. The new regime made laws against the Church; in the meantime anarchists, socialists and Communists began to use violence against people and things.

As historians have ascertained, a growing number of measures against the Catholic Church and religious practice were taken between 1931 and 1936. These oppressive laws aimed at a radical and antidemocratic conception of the separation between Church and State. Violent persecution proper began in 1934 with the “Turon martyrs,” who have already been canonized, and many other believers murdered during the Communist Revolution of the Asturias, when priests, religious and seminarians, 37 in all, were killed and 58 churches were burned. After 1936 in all the main cities, cathedrals, religious communities and parish churches were attacked, ransacked and burned. These persecutions aimed at erasing all traces of Catholic tradition in Spain. Hatred for the faith or “in Odium Fidei” went even beyond murders and found expression in thousands of sacrilegious acts: tabernacles were emptied, consecrated particles were eaten, shot at, strewn in the streets and trodden on; churches were used as stables, altars were demolished, priests and nuns were held at gunpoint in the attempt to force them to recant their faith. Let us remember that persecutions started years before the beginning of the civil war, and the Church could be accused of supporting Franco’s Falangists, referred to as “rebels.”

It was within the context of this perilous situation that the Mercedarians of the Province of Aragon were called upon by God to exercise their 4^th Vow: to be willing to offer their lives for those in danger of losing the faith. In this particular period all of Spain was in danger of losing their once cherished Catholic Faith. Lead by the former Master General of the Order Fr. Mariano Alcala Perez, 18 Mercedarian religious were martyred here we have a brief witness account for each of them:

Padre Mariano Acala:“He was in a serene frame of mind, thinking about heaven and showing his hope for heaven to his relatives whom he as consoling by telling that they were not losing anything by his death. I have also heard that at the precise moment of being shot to death, he shouted: “Long live Christ the King.”

Padre Tomas Carbonell Miquel: “I saw a man coming down from the Via Bajada de la Trinidad with his arms up and his head down. I heard all those who were going by say: ‘he is a Mercedarian, he is a Mercedarian.’… A short time later, several shots rang out and everyone commented that they had killed the Mercedarian priest.”

Padre Francisco Gargallo Gascon: “…the Servant of God had accepted to shed his blood out of love for Jesus: he knew that he was running the risk of losing his life…yet he was calm, serene and completely surrendered into God’s arms. His sole preoccupation was to save the young novices who were with him.”

Padre Francisco Gargallo Gason & Padre Emanuel Sancho Aguilar: “Having placed the two Fathers and the deponent before the firing squad and as we were continuing to sing the Te Deum, the militiamen ordered me to leave their midst and to move aside. However, I must not have heard them since the Father pushed me aside so that I would be out of the reach of the guns. I heard the Servants of God forgive their executioners.”

Padre Emanuel Sancho Aguilar: “When he was speaking about martyrdom, he seemed to become excited and very enthusiastic, manifesting an intense desire to suffer it especially when speaking of the difficult times that we were approaching and he often said: ‘my sons, the greatest benefit that God could grant us would be that of dying as martyrs.’”

Padre Mariano Pina Turon: the Reds addressed him, “‘Get up, you are going to die but before that, we are going to make you swallow the Rosary.’ Before all this that man showed great fortitude and presence of mind.”

“The militiamen who got out of it were dragging a man, they put him with his back to them in an empty field and at five or six yards from where I was. The two or three militiamen who were leading him fired and he fell down from the shot.”

Friar Pedro Esteban Hernandez: “Brother Pedro, the younger of the two, could have looked for a safer refuge but he refused to abandon Brother Antonio who was quite old and very tired. I always found them resigned and in conformity with God’s will.”

Friar Antonio Lahoz Gan: “I have a devotion to him since I already considered him as a saint when he was alive. Whenever he heard the sound of the Angelus, without any concern for the place where he was or who was present, he would kneel and pray fervently even if the ground was full of rocks.”

Friar Jose Trallero Lou: “The militiamen were abusing the above mentioned Brothers with words and threatening them with their guns so that they would reveal where the other Fathers and Brothers were. Although they knew that they were not very far, the two did not reveal anything. They did not respond to the insults.”

“According to what my father, who spent the night there, told me, they attempted to take away Bro. Trallero’s (Mercedarian) metals and they tried to make him blaspheme by promising him that they would save his life but he said: ‘I will not blaspheme. Long live Christ the King.’”

“I heard the militiamen who arrested him say in order to free them and save their lives, they only asked them to shout ‘Long live the revolution and Communism, ‘to which the martyrs responded ‘Long live the Christ the King!’ ‘Long live the Catholic faith!’”

Friar Jaime Codina Casella: “When the militiamen threatened them so that they might reveal the hiding place of the other religious, he withdrew into absolute silence in spite of the threats. According to I heard, they kept urging them to shout ‘long live Russia’ and other things to which they responded ‘Long live Christ the King.’”

Padre Jose Rene Prenafeta: During the revolution he stated, “Even if they were to point a gun at my chest, I would never deny that I am a priest.”

Padre Tomas Campo Marin: While in prisoned a witness said, “Fr. Campo Marin excelled by his resignation, his gentle treatment, his zeal, offering to hear our confessions, leading the Rosary out loud and other prayers”

Padre Francisco Llagostera Bonet: “They were getting out of the truck, tied up two by two by their wrists and then in groups of fourteen, they put them in front of the wall and facing those who were to kill them. When the latter gave the order to ‘aim,’ the martyrs shouted ‘Long live Christ the King’”

Friar Serapio Sanz Iranzo: “I know that when they went to Lerida, where he was, to kill the Fathers, when he saw that they were leaving him behind, he said: ‘I too am a religious like them.’ Then the militiamen took him away with them and they assassinated him with the Fathers.”

Padre Enrique Morante Chic: “ The attitude of the Servant of God before those who were carrying out the religious persecution was that of his appearing serene and so proud of being a Mercedarian priest that he immediately revealed it to his assassins although he was well aware of the consequences.”

Padre Jesus Massanet Flaquer: “…the three militiamen who were leading them, shot them in the back. I saw them fall to the ground as a result of the shots. After they had picked up the corpses, one could see traces of blood on the ground.”

The assassins themselves reported that the Servant of God “had shown a great deal of serenity and he shouted ‘Long live Christ the King.’”

Padre Lorenzo Moreno Nicolas: “before he was shot, he blessed his executioners and told them that he forgave them according to what the driver, who drove him to his martyrdom, related to them.”

“His martyrdom must have been terrible…he invited him to sit on the edge of the well and he shot him. When he fell to the bottom, they continued to fire from above and after they had left, moans could still be heard, from which it was inferred that his death must have taken place after a long and painful agony if we bear in mind that the moans of the five Brothers of the Christian Schools and of the Pastor of Saint James, who were all thrown into the same well and in the same way as Father Lorenzo, were heard the day after the crime had ben perpetuated against them.”

Brother Francisco Mitja Mitja: “On the following day, along with six or eight men who were also in hiding, we went back to the same place. Among all of us, we were able to identify the cadaver as that of a Mercedarian Brother of Saint Raymond since, on account of the clothing and of the objects that he had on and even the alms that he had been given in different houses, he was easily identifiable…we could clearly deduce that he had not thrown himself down from a rock that was nearby, but that instead he had been pushed.”

Special thanks to: http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?id=7999&CFID=14171491&CFTOKEN=16464908

Also see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martyrs_of_the_Spanish_Civil_War

http://orderofmercy.org/2013/10/19-mercedarian-martyrs-of-the-spanish-civil-war-to-be-beatified-october-13th/#more-2679

http://orderofmercy.org/2011/12/nineteen-mercedarian-friars-named-martyrs-by-vatican/

19 Mercedarian Martyrs of the Spanish Civil War to be Beatified October 13th

In Vatican City, on December 19, 2011 Zenit.org reported Pope Benedict XVI on Monday met with Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes, and authorized the promulgation of decrees concerning miracles, martyrdom and heroic virtues for a number of causes. Among those were Mariano Acala and 18 fellow Martyrs of the Order of Mercy. This beatification will take place on Tarragona, Spain, October 13, 2013. Here is the formal announcement from the Mercedarian Generalate:

With the title “19 Palms. Martyrs of Mercy of Aragon in 1936 “Fray Joaquin Rubio Millan published in 2010 a careful publication on the martyrdom of the nineteen martyrs of the Order of Mercy in the province of Aragon, whose list is headed by the Servant of God Mariano Alcala Perez, born May 11, 1867 and executed on September 15, 1936.

The other 18 religious who met a violent death are: Padre Tomás Carbonell Miquel, Padre Francisco Gargallo Gascón, Padre Manuel Sancho Aguilar, Padre Mariano Pina Turón, Fray Pedro Armengol Esteban Hernández, Fray Antonio Lahoz Gan, Fray José Trallero Lou, Fray Jaime Codina Casellas, Padre José Reñé Prenafreta, Fray Antonio González Penín, Padre Tomás Campo Marín, Padre Francisco Llagostera Bonet, Fray Serapio Sanz Iranzo, Padre Enrique Morante Chic, Padre Jesús Eduardo Massanet Flaquer, Padre Amancio Marín Mínguez, Padre Lorenzo Moreno Nicolás, y Fray Francisco Mitjá Mitjá.

Beatification

The religious were 19 Mercedarians of the Province of Aragon who died martyrs, killed “in odium fidei” or out of hatred for the faith between July 25, 1936 and January 1, 1937 in Barcelona and Teruel, Spain. The diocesan process opened in Lleida in 1957 and concluded in 1959. The Congregation of Saints gave legal validity in Rome on June 9, 1995. The commission of theologians gave a favorable opinion on September 30, 2009. The December 13, 2011 the Congress of Cardinals and Bishops have recognized that the said servants of God were killed by fidelity to Christ and the Church. The Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI then approved the martyrdom of the 19 Mercedarians on 19 December 2011. The celebration will be in Tarragona, Spain, 13 October 2013.

522 Spanish martyrs obeyed imperatives of faith before the world, remember Bishop

http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=es&u=http://www.aciprensa.com/noticias/etiquetas/martires/&prev=/search%3Fq%3DGuerra%2BCivil%2BEspa%25C3%25B1ola%2BM%25C3%25A1rtires%2Boctubre%2B2013%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26hs%3DUFZ%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official

Spain: beatification of 500 martyrs of the Civil War

http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=es&u=http://www.zenit.org/es/articles/espana-beatificaran-a-500-martires-de-la-guerra-civilprev=/search%3Fq%3DGuerra%2BCivil%2BEspa%25C3%25B1ola%2BM%25C3%25A1rtires%2Boctubre%2B2013%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26hs%3DkOZ%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official

Pope Francis Visits Ancient Mercedarian Shrine

Hidden on the shore of an Island west of Italy is one of the Church’s secret gems, the Shrine of Our Lady of Bonaria. This Basilica has been staffed by the Mercedarian Friars for over 675 years. This Holy Place has been visited by every Pope since Paul VI. On September 22nd, 6 months into his pontificate, Pope Francis arrived to pray to Our Lady of Bonaria. Fr Ken and Fr Tony were present and share their experience:

Dear Brothers and Friends,

Fr Tony with the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy in front of the Basilica

Today was a most exciting day welcoming our Holy Father Pope Francis at our Lady of Bonaria shrine in Cagliari, Sardenga in which our Mercedarian Friars faithfully served for over 675 years. For us the day really began with the precious opportunity we had to bring out on our own shoulders in a short procession, the beautiful image of Our Lady of Bonaria from the Basilica to be placed near the altar where our Holy Father celebrated the Holy Eucharist with us all. What a meaningful moment it was for us to continue this wonderful witness and service to the people of Sardegna, along with this inspiring opportunity to concelebrate the Holy Eucharist with our Holy Father.

When our Holy Father first arrived, he spent a significant time first in the Basilica proper with many officials of the Diocese and of the City and also with a tender care and outreach to those having physical challenges in their lives. We were inspired by his words of encouragement to the youth suffering so much from the difficulties in finding employment and hope. Then there was, of course, the most magnificent celebration of the Holy Eucharist again with a message of encouragement to struggling youth. With the natural spontaneous openness of our Holy Father, a most precious moment was seeing him gleaming with joy as a child ran to embrace him in the procession after the Holy Mass returning to the Basilica.

In the final minutes at our shrine, there was also the opportunity soon after the Holy Mass, for our Order and leading Parishioners to spend a particular moment of prayer with our Holy Father in the Santuario next to the Basilica that is the daily shrine of devotion to our Lady of Bonaria. As he came out to honor our Lady of Bonaria with a prayer and a bouquet of flowers, we all gleamed with joy as he came down to us to greet us with his enthusiasm, waving and sharing with us all a deep sense of communion in service to our Lord.

Our Holy Father spent the rest of the day receiving many again at the Cathedral in Cagiari and later, with a joyful and spirit filled vehicle procession through the streets filled with youth, he had a dedicated celebration of outreach and encouragement asking them to see their hope is in Jesus who never deludes us and always transforms our failures into moments of growth and new life. His final word to all, acknowledging the very sad news of loss of life of Christians whose church in Pakistan was attacked by suicide bombers just a couple hours before, he called all the youth to recognize their choice between the good and violence and called them to choose the way of peace and life. We all experienced a profound sense of peace and joy in our Holy Father Pope Francis’ devotional and pastoral visit to Cagliari on the
beautiful island of Sardegna.

The Holy Father incenses the miraculous statue

In prayerful union with Our Redeemer Jesus Christ and Our Lady of Bonaria,

Fr. Kenneth Breen, O. de M.

For more on this historic trip visit: http://www.romereports.com/palio/pope-francis-in-cagliari-mass-mary-teaches-us-to-look-out-for-each-other-english-11084.html#.UkDgTT9x3IU

http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/seek-god-through-his-mother-pope-encourages-faithful/

http://orderofmercy.org/2011/12/the-amazing-story-of-our-lady-of-bonaria/

We Must Confront the Culture of Death, Pope Francis Said in a Little-Known Pro-Life Homily

In a little-known homily years ago, the man who was to become Pope Francis warned of the persecution of those promoting a respect for life, but nonetheless encouraged them to stand up for life.

Be courageous in promoting life, says Pope Francis. (Photo: The Guardian)

“If the world hates you, be aware that it hated me before it hated you. If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own. Because you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world—therefore the world hates you,” the Pope quoted the words of Christ.

Pope Francis’ homily, translated into English and set to exciting video footage of World Youth Day, was made into a video on YourTube by the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy.

This message of Christ from the Gospel of John is “a little chilling,” in the words of a LifeSiteNews translation of the cardinal’s talk. The culture of death is something every Christian must confront, he said. Contrary to the Gospel, this culture sees life only for its usefulness and perceived value. It is dispensable when seen as “costly” or “useless” — whether that applies to the elderly or the unborn.

Smelling a wolf

In his off-hand manner, the cardinal said that when it comes to promoting life, it’s about “knowing how to smell” a wolf disguised as a sheep. “We don’t have the luxury to be fools because we have a very beautiful message of life and we’re not permitted to be fools.”

The culture of death preaches egoism and self-survival, but not the generous giving of life to others, says the pope. Christ counters this by saying, “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). This is the mark of a Christian, he said – caring for the elderly, the disabled, the underprivileged child, even when it is costly and sacrifices are needed. Like Christ the Good Shepherd, not one sheep should be lost.

Wolves of persecution

Although we are made in the image and likeness of God – from whom we are given our worth – the world does not see this. Like sheep among wolves, we may be persecuted and shunned for our pro-life beliefs. Pope Francis reminds us of the Christian martyrs, who themselves were killed for preaching the Gospel of Life, but were given sufficient strength from Jesus.

In Genesis, Cain questioned whether he was his brother’s keeper. His sin continues in modern times, as society – where the seeds of the culture of death have taken root – shows increasing apathy towards others, the pontiff said.

In his homily, given on Aug. 31, 2005, on the feast of St. Raymond Nonnatus, Pope Francis spoke of the saint’s image, which was traveling between houses. St. Raymond, who is the patron of midwives and pregnant mothers, lived a life caring for others, even surrendering himself as a hostage to ransom captive Christians. He is also an early member of the Order of Mercy. The image of this saint must be a reminder to us to care for life from beginning to end, following Christ as did his disciples, the pope said.

Read the full text of the homily on our website.

Transcript of Pope Francis’ 2005 Pro-Life Homily Shows His Candor

With surprising candor, the man who was to become Pope Francis warned his fellow Christians of the wolves of persecution, but nevertheless told them to stand for life, and against the culture of death. The below homily was given before Cardinal Bergoglio was elected Pope. The Order of Mercy produced this video, which combines the homily, read by a guest narrator, with the exciting backdrop of World Youth Day 2013 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The homily was given on Aug. 31, the feast of St. Raymond Nonnatus, in 2005.

Read our article on this new video, “We Must Confront the Culture of Death, Pope Francis Says.”

Homily text:

When one listens to what Jesus says: Look, “I send you, I send you like sheep amongst the wolves,” one wants to ask: “Lord, are you joking, or do not have a better place to send us?” Because what Jesus says is a little chilling: “if you proclaim my message, they are going to persecute you, they are going to slander you, they are going to set traps to deliver you to the courts and to have you killed. But you must continue forward. For that reason, take care, Jesus says, and be astute, be clever like the serpent but very simple like doves,” joining the two things.

The Christian cannot allow himself the luxury to be an idiot, that’s clear. We don’t have the luxury to be fools because we have a very beautiful message of life and we’re not permitted to be fools. For that reason, Jesus says, “Be astute, be careful.” What is the astuteness of the Christian? In knowing how to discern who is a wolf and who is a sheep.

And when, during this celebration of life, a wolf disguises himself as a sheep, it’s knowing how to smell him. “Look, you have the skin of a sheep but the smell of a wolf.” And this, this mandate that Jesus gives us is very important. It’s for something very great. Jesus tells us something that attracts our attention, when someone asks him: “well, why did you come into the world?” “Look, I come to bring life and for that life to be in abundance, and I am sending you so that you can advance that life, and so that it will be abundant.”

Jesus didn’t come to bring death, but rather, the death of hatred, the death of fighting, the death of calumny, that is, killing with the tongue. Jesus did not come to bring death, the death that He suffered for defending life. Jesus came to bring life and to bring the abundant life, and he sends us out, carrying that life, but he tells us: “Care for it!” Because there are people who have what we are hearing about today, who aren’t involved in the Gospel: the culture of death. That is, life interests them insofar as it is useful, insofar as it has some kind of utility and if not, it doesn’t interest them. And throughout the world, this weed has been planted, of the culture of death.

I was reading a book a while back, where this disturbing phrase was found: “In the world of today, the cheapest thing is life, what costs the least is life” — which is, therefore, the most disregarded thing, the most dispensable thing.

This elderly man, this elderly woman, are useless; discard them, let’s throw them in the nursing home like we hang up the raincoat during summer, with three mothballs in the pocket, and let’s hang it in the nursing home because they’re now disposable, they’re useless.

This child who is on the way is a bother to the family. “Oh no, for what? I have no idea. Let’s discard him and return him to the sender.”

That is what the culture of death preaches to us.

This child that I have at home, well, I don’t have time to educate him. Let him grow up like a weed in the field, and this other child who doesn’t have anything to eat, not even little shoes to go to school, and well, I’m very sorry, but I’m not the redeemer of the whole world.

That’s what the culture of death preaches. It’s not interested in life. What interests it? Egoism. One is interested in surviving, but not in giving life, caring for life, offering life.

Today, in this shrine dedicated to life, in this day of the patron saint of life, Jesus again says to us: “Care for it! I came to bring life, and life in abundance, but care for it! You are going to be surrounded by wolves; you are to be the ones to defend life, to care for life.

Care for life! What a beautiful thing one sees — which I know! — that a grandfather, a grandmother, who perhaps can no longer speak, who is paralyzed, and the grandson or the son comes and takes their hand, and in silence cherishes them, nothing more. That is caring for life. When one sees people who take care so that this child can go to school, so that another doesn’t lack food, that is caring for life.

Open your heart to life! Because the egoism of death, the egoistic culture of death, is like the weed in the field, that weed, that grass or black weed, or that hemlock, is growing, it is invading and kills the trees, kills the fruit, kills the flowers, kills life. The weeds. Remember that once Jesus spoke of that. He said: “When the seed is life, it falls in the middle of the weeds, and the thorns choke it, ” the thorns of egoism, of the passions, of wanting everything for one’s self. Life is always giving, gives itself, and it is costly to care for life. Oh how it costs! It costs tears.

How beautiful is caring for life, allowing life to grow, to give life like Jesus, and to give it abundantly, not to permit that even one of these smallest ones be lost. That is what Jesus asked of the Father: “that none of those whom You have given me be lost, that all of the life that You gave me to care for, might be cared for, that it might not be lost.” And we care for life, because He cares for our life from the womb. We have it in the motto for this year: “From the womb you were our protector.” He cares for us and he teaches us that.

We (modern society) don’t care for life. Because there is an ethical order of caring for life, we simply care for life. Jesus teaches us to care for life because it is the image of God, who is absolute life. We cannot announce anything else but life, and from the beginning to the end. All of us must care for life, cherish life, with tenderness, warmth.

But it is a road that is full of wolves, and perhaps for that reason they might bring us to the courts, perhaps, for that reason, for caring for life they might kill us. We should think about the Christian martyrs. They killed them for preaching this Gospel of life, this Gospel that Jesus brought. But Jesus gives us the strength. Go forth! Don’t be fools, remember, a Christian doesn’t have the luxury of being foolish, I’m not going to repeat, an idiot, a fool, he can’t give himself the luxury. He has to be clever, he has to be astute, to carry this out.

When one speaks of these things of the culture of life, to which we are called, one feels the sadness that, in these hearts, and even from childhood, the culture of death has been sown. Egoism is sown in them, the “well, and what does it matter to me what happens to others” is sown in them. Who am I to care for others? This statement, do you remember who made it first? Cain. “Am I the one who must care for his brother?” This criminal statement, this phrase of death — it is a shame that even from childhood people grow up with this thinking that this egoistic thinking in inculcated within them, that men and women are formed in this way. I said it once and I’ll repeat it — we could place it as a nickname — I, me, mine, with me, for me, everything for one, give nothing to others, because to give life is to open the heart, and to care for life is to expend one’s self in tenderness and warmth for others, to have concern in my heart for others.

Today we’re going to bless the messengers of life. They are those who are going to carry the images of Saint Raymond Nonnatus to people’s homes. They are going to go to people’s houses, and each time the image arrives at a house, it’s not for saying “Oh how lovely! I have it to myself.” Rather it is to remember that I have to struggle for life, to care for life, that there shouldn’t be even one child who doesn’t have the right to be born, there shouldn’t be even one child who doesn’t have the right to be well fed, there shouldn’t even be one child who doesn’t have the right to go to school.

How many children are working to recycle cardboard? I see them in the center of Buenos Aires. They don’t go to school. They are exploited by their parents. And who provokes the parents to exploit their children? The culture of death. There shouldn’t be one child who doesn’t grow up, who doesn’t live his adolescence open to life. There shouldn’t be any adult who doesn’t concern himself with what others are lacking, with what others need to have more life, and with ensuring that there isn’t even one elderly person put into storage, alone, discarded.

Caring for life from the beginning to the end. What a simple thing, what a beautiful thing. Father, is that why there are so many wolves who want to eat us? Is that why, tell me? Who did Jesus kill? No one. He did good things. And how did he end up? If we go down the road of life ugly things can happen to us, but it doesn’t matter. It’s worth it. He first opened the way.

So, go forth and don’t be discouraged. Care for life. It’s worth it! So be it.

This text was translated from a transcript of the original Spanish text published by the Argentinean Catholic Information Agency (AICA). Homily translation by Matthew Cullinan Hoffman of LifeSiteNews.com.

St. Raymond Nonnatus is a principal patron of the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy. He is also the patron saint of expectant mothers and midwives because of his own cesarean birth. Read St. Raymond’s story on our website.

More from the Priestly Ordinations in India

One of our newly ordained Fr. Illuru Somuas, O. de M., from Andhra Pradesh, India composed this article for the US Vicariate:

Priestly ordination -2013

The First ordination to priesthood was done in St.Jude’s church, chinnathura (Trivandrum diocese) on April 8^th, 2013. The other was in Our Lady of Fathima church, Badvel (Kadapa diocese, Andhra Pradesh). Both ceremonies have gone well. Soosa Packiam, the arch-bishop of Trivandrum was present and delivered a very good inspiring homily on our ordination day. Some of our fathers and brothers were there with blissful presence and angelic smiles. Good number of faithful and the well wishers whom we know came there and cherished us. Big thanks to all of them .

The Second ordination was on 13^th April, 2013. Three of the brothers were ordained by Rt. Rev.Dr. M.D.Prakasham, the bishop of Nellore diocese. He delivered a very good inspiring homily which was really helpful for our priestly ministry. The first Masses of the three brothers had gone smoothly. Thanks to all the parish priests and assistants and sisters and well wishers who have really come to our places of Ordination and prayed for us to the Almighty and cherished us. All thanks to God for Redemption and our Vocation and to our parents for our birth, upbringing and encouragement.

Fr. Illuru Somudas, O. de M.

Andhra Pradesh

The Order’s mission in India continues to grow as 6 more are ordained.

Fr Ken Breen, the Vicar of the United States, traveled to India after Easter to attend the Ordination of six Indian friars. Here he shares with us the joyful experience of those days:

This year, 2013, we had six of our Mercedarian religious ordained to the priesthood in India. They were ordained in two separate celebrations. One in the south of India for the three from that area called Chinneturai. The other three were ordained in their home town district area called Kadapa in the South western state called Andhra Pradesh. I arrived from USA on the day of the Ordination itself, April 8th at 3:30 am in the airport closest to the town of their Ordination and was so happy to see the bus load of my community coming for the celebration were already there awaiting my arrival! The city of the airport is called Trivandrum. It was about an hour and a half from Chinneturai where the first Ordination of the three took place. There was also one of our Mercedarian religious who was ordained to the Diaconate in the very same celebration. All the Ordinations begin with an elaborate prayer song where grade school girls lead the procession with a very reverent and spiritual form of dance. In this Ordination celebration, the Bishop also sung many of the prayers and parts of the Ritual and Holy Mass. It was deeply profound and beautiful. We were delighted to stand with the Bishop and members of our family for a remembrance photo at the end of the Mass.

We spent a couple days in the area before going for the next Ordination. Mainly it was to participate in the First Mass celebrations of these three newly ordained. Two Masses were done on the day after the Ordination, one in the church of Ordination in the morning and then the other one in the evening in the nearby church in the town called Poothurai. Then there was the third one celebrated the following day in a town about an hour away called Poonthurai. The next day we all boarded the train to go to the next town called Kadapa for the next set of Ordinations. In both places it was very hot, but what made it more difficult in the first place was the many times we were without electricity so you can imagine the burden of the 95F heat without a fan. Thankfully it was still cool enough at night to sleep.

The second group of three to be Ordained had their Ordination in a their hometown called Badvel which is in this Kadapa District. The ordaining prelate has been a personal close friend and inspiration for our community and was in fact the one who encouraged us to take up the administration of the home in that area for the drop-out school children called Jeevadhara. Their Ordination was also a very beautiful and profound celebration as Bishop Prakasam encouraged us all the live up to our charism to release the captive and proclaim a year of favor from the Lord. The following days also after the Ordination were days in which we celebrated the the First Masses, also in the same way, two were done on the following day in the same place of the Ordination, and the third came in the day after in another town.

Our newly ordained are filled with abiding joy and ask your prayers for a very faithful and fruitful exercise of the religious and priestly ministry and they certainly what to assure all that they remember us all in their prayers as well.

In Jesus and Our Lady of Mercy, Fr. Ken

Blessed John Paul II Encouraged the Mercedarians in their Redemptive Charism

Wherever Modern Man Is Held Prisoner

On May 23, 1980, the Holy Father received the twenty-six members of the ordinary general chapter of the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Ransom, led by the Master General, Fr. Domenico Acquaro, O. de M. and by the Procurator General, Fr Bernardo Arrieta, O. de M.

Blessed John Paul II delivered the following address.

Beloved Brothers of the Order of Our Lady of Ransom,

With deep joy I share with you these moments of intimacy, at an informal meeting which, I trust, will serve to draw even closer the ties of affectionate communion between your institute and the Pope.

I know that you are gathered in Rome for the general chapter, to which all the religious of the Order, engaged in apostolic work in nineteen countries of different continents, are looking with such hope.

I thank you for your visit, with which you desire to manifest to me your feelings of faithful adherence to the Magisterium of the Church. I wish to take the opportunity to confirm my deep esteem for you ancient and well-deserving Order, which of for over seven and a half centuries has been doing everything in its power for the most afflicted and oppressed members of the Mystical Body of Christ.

The mission that your founder, St. Peter Nolasco, entrusted to you, in the direct work of ransom and help the prisoners, and by which all his apostolic activity in parishes, hospitals for the poor, teaching and missions was imbued, is prolonged today in a charism of service to the Faith, to project a ray of hope and to offer the assistance of Christ’s charity to all of those who find themselves subjected to new forms of captivity in our society: in prisons, in suburbs of poverty and hunger, among those addicted to drugs, in areas of materialism in which the Church is persecuted or reduced to silence, etc.

It is a vast field in which your religious spirit and the total availability opened up by the generous practice of the evangelical counsels and the profession of your fourth vow has to dedicate itself unreservedly. That will be the way to be faithful to your charism today, along the lines laid down by St. Peter Nolasco and already contained in the original constitutions of 1272.

There is no doubt that your vocation calls you to a demanding ecclesial commitment. In order to keep this dedication alive, you must be souls of deep interior life and renew your strength in contact with the Model of all perfection: Christ Jesus, the Good Shepherd and Savior. Therefore, I repeat to you: “Your houses must be above all centers of prayer, meditation and dialogue—individual and communitarian—with Him who is and must be the first and principal interlocutor in the laborious succession of the hours of every day” (Address to Religious Superiors General, November 24, 1978). In this sublime school the religious will quench his thirst for God, which must be a characteristic of his life (cf. Ps. 63:1-2), and will be filled with that great love that gives a new meaning to his own existence (cf. Redemptor Hominis, no. 10).

Speaking to religious whose founder placed such importance on devotion to the Mother of God and ours, I cannot but exhort you to maintain and deepen this great Marian love which is a characteristic note of your Order. Take from the “Mother of mercy” and “Consolation of the afflicted” an example and inspiration at every moment. She will guide you to her Son and will teach you the value of every soul, on whom to lavish zealously the care of your ministry.

Encouraging you in your resolutions, I repeat to you my confidence; I pray for you and I impart my special blessing to each one of the members of your Order.