Blessed Peter To-Rot
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Today we celebrate the feast day of Blessed Peter To-Rot. He was born in Papua New Guinea, just north of Australia during the Pontificate of Pius X.
His parents were some of the region’s first converts to Catholicism. The parish priest thought Peter should become a priest, but his father, in hindsight, providentially encouraged Peter to become a catechist. By the time he was 21 he was a skilled teacher of the faith. At 24 he married Paula and they had three children. He is one of the Patrons of married couples.
In his Beatification Homily for Peter To-Rot John Paul II said: Inspired by his faith in Christ, he was a devoted husband, a loving father and a dedicated catechist known for his kindness, gentleness and compassion. Daily Mass and Holy Communion, and frequent visits to our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, sustained him, gave him wisdom to counsel the disheartened, and courage to persevere until death. In order to be an effective evangelizer, Peter To Rot studied hard and sought advice from wise and holy "big men". Most of all he prayed – for himself, for his family, for his people, and for the Church. His witness to the Gospel inspired others, in very difficult situations, because he lived his Christian life so purely and joyfully. Without being aware of it, he was preparing throughout his life for his greatest offering: by dying daily to himself, he walked with his Lord on the road which leads to Calvary (Cf. Mt. 10: 38-39).
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In 1942, the Japanese military attacked and occupied his island. After a quiet start the repression grew violent. All the priests were imprisoned and all Christian worship, public and private were banned. The only person left “in the field” so to speak was Peter. Fully aware of the risks and utterly convinced of the need “to give primacy to the things of God” he immediately took up his responsibility.
Again, John Paul II says of Peter: “During times of persecution the faith of individuals and communities is "tested by fire" (1Pt. 1: 7). But Christ tells us that there is no reason to be afraid. Those persecuted for their faith will be more eloquent than ever: "it is not you who will be speaking; the Spirit of your Father will be speaking in you" (Mt. 10: 20). So it was for Blessed Peter To Rot. When the village of Rakunai was occupied during the Second World War by the Japanese military and after the heroic missionary priests were imprisoned, he assumed responsibility for the spiritual life of the villagers. Not only did he continue to instruct the faithful and visit the sick, he also baptized, assisted at marriages and led people in prayer.
When the Japanese legalized and encouraged polygamy, Blessed Peter knew it to be against Christian principles and firmly denounced this practice. Because the Spirit of God dwelt in him, he fearlessly proclaimed the truth about the sanctity of marriage. He refused to take the "easy way" (Cf. ibid. 7: 13) of moral compromise. "I have to fulfil my duty as a Church witness to Jesus Christ", he explained. Fear of suffering and death did not deter him.
On the day of his death, Blessed Peter asked his wife to bring him his catechist’s crucifix. It accompanied him to the end. Condemned without trial, he suffered his martyrdom calmly. Following in the footsteps of his Master, the "Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (Jn.1: 29), he too was "led like a lamb to the slaughter" (Cf. Is. 53: 7). And yet this "grain of wheat" which fell silently into the earth (Cf. Jn. 12: 24) has produced a harvest of blessings for the Church in Papua New Guinea!
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About the time Peter To Rot was born Pope St. Pius X asked a group of Cardinals:
“What is the thing we most need, today, to save society?”
“Build Catholic schools,” said one. “No.”
“More churches,” said another. “Still no.”
“Speed up the recruiting of priests,” said a third. “No, no,” said the Pope,
“The MOST necessary thing of all…is to form a group of lay-people who will be virtuous, enlightened, resolute, and truly apostolic.”
St. Pius X realized the most important thing to do is to form a kind of special forces - to prepare Lay People in three ways:
i. Teach them how to have a deep friendship with Jesus in prayer.
a. Pius X also said: “If there were one million families praying the Rosary every day, the entire world would be saved.”
ii. Teach them to know their faith
iii. Train them how to share their faith with their children and friends by explaining it amid friendship and good conversation.
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Blessed Peter is inspiring but way beyond what we can imitate…This is not true. Here’s a very practical strategy:
We have designed this Rosary Podcast in such a way that if you follow it every day for one year you will learn the life of Jesus, the whole Catechism, including the doctrine, Sacraments, moral and spiritual principles; as well as giving you the witness of the saints.
That is precisely why we do the Rosary this way – so you can learn all the truths of the Catholic Religion in little chunks one day a time.
You will also learn how to meditate on your faith in the Rosary with the help of Mary. And when you have the daily habit of meditation then you will know what to think and say and do with your life.
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Take back Sundays.
Delight in the goodness of God and His creation by:
1. Celebrating what God has done at Mass;
2. Celebrate the goodness of your family and friends by gathering and doing some activity that helps you experience the goodness of reality;
3. Celebrate someone who has no one to delight in them.
Finally, entrust these gatherings to Mary. Ask her to give you patience and prudence and to inspire you to invite those gathered with you on Sundays to pray the Rosary with you or to share the Podcast with them. The Mission of the Movement of the Holy Family is that everyone has a group of family and friends with whom you share life and integrate your faith so that you can enrich one another by your gifts and stretch each other by your weaknesses. And this is the very place where you invite those who have lost sight of God so that they too may share in your joy.
And that is why the Church was born in the home and the Church in crisis today will be reborn in the home.