Courage In Public

1. Maybe you know that the word “martyr” means “witness,”

   1. The idea is that when someone is willing to give their lives for a truth, it’s a witness to their conviction

   2. But it also works the other way – the reason people were martyred in the first place is that they wouldn’t stop witnessing to the truth – even when people told them to shut up.

   3. Now there are a lot of people who would be much more comfortable if we would not proclaim the Church’s teachings on faith and morals

                                                               i.      If we would be quiet about the fact that Jesus is the only way to Heaven; that the Catholic Church is the One, True Church; or that marriage is one man and one woman, till death do them part.

1. What’s holding us back is fear

   1. For some of us, it’s fear that if we speak unpopular truths we’ll lose our jobs or maybe (in some countries) even face legal action

   2. But for most of us in America, it’s just social fear. It’s the fear of alienating people, or feeling awkward.

                                                              i.      You simply have to get over the fear of what others will say or how they’ll look at you. You need to speak the truth. They need you to speak the truth.

1. So, we face the same question that the apostles and early martyrs faced: should we make other people more comfortable by staying quiet, or should we obey God by spreading the Gospel?

                                                              i.      People need to know there’s someone they can go to. Someone who is willing to talk. Someone with the truth. Do you have the courage to be that person?