North American Martyrs
ONE
The Greek word martyr is translated as witness. Jesus teaches about being His witnesses; “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8). And ; “Greater love has no man than he who would lay down his life for his friends (Jn 15:13). Today is the Feast of the North American Martyrs. Sts. Isaac Jogues, Jean de Brébeuf, and companions. Brébeuf was from Normandy, France and was martyred as a Jesuit Missionary in 1649 by the Iroquois near modern day Montreal. Isaac Jogues was also a Jesuit missionary and was martyred in 1646 by the Mohawks near Albany, New York. These two saints and their companions offered the Lord their lives with such conviction that they even accepted torture and the harshest of conditions to proclaim the Gospel to a people who needed it for their own salvation. In the past few decades, I fear that this conviction of the martyrs has been replaced with complacency and relativism—let each person find his own way to his or her God. Feast days like today remind us that there is only one Savior of the world, Jesus Christ, and it is the job of every Catholic to preach Him to the nations, even if it means torture and death! Fortunately for us, at least currently, we are not being tortured or killed in this country. But we are experiencing resistance and even persecution. Every five minutes somewhere in the world a Christian is killed for their faith. Will we persevere as did these holy martyrs, or will our attachments to wealth and comfort so weaken our resolve that we will falter?
TWO
Brébeuf suffered such terrible tortures, for the sake of our younger audience I will edit the account taken from an eyewitness, Dr. Christophe Regnaud, on this saintly priest’s martyrdom;
"The Iroquois came, to the number of twelve hundred men; took our village, and seized Father Brebeuf and his companion; and set fire to all the huts. They proceeded to vent their rage on those two Fathers; for they took them both and stripped them entirely naked, and fastened each to a post. They tied both of their hands together. They (harmed) their fingers. They beat them with a shower of blows from cudgels…there being no part of their body which did not endure this torment. " The brutal captors told us further, that, although Father de Brébeuf was overwhelmed under the weight of these blows, he did not cease continually to speak of God, and to encourage all the new Christians who were captives like himself to suffer well, that they might die well, in order to go in company with him to Paradise.” (From The Jesuit Relations, vol. 34, pp. 24-34). The reason why the Church preserves so tenderly the accounts of such martyrdoms, and the reason why I’m sharing it, is not because we get fascinated with the morbid and the grisly. Rather, it is because in such cases, we see presented before us the power of grace at work in the moment in which it is needed. There are cases after cases of martyr accounts who endured unbearably brutal torments, but did so not only heroically, but even joyfully! This is because of the power of the Cross of Jesus that utilized exactly such moments to surge such Divine Love through the veins of these victims, that they died more martyrs of love for God and neighbor than from the tortures. These graces, of course, were only available when needed. If you’re like me, when I read such accounts, I shudder. “Please Lord,” I secretly mutter, “Don’t ever let this happen to me or a loved one!” Yet, from my own puny place of faith and grace do I utter such nonsense, as the Lord gives generously in the times in which we need. These accounts of normal men and women should give us great confidence, not in ourselves, but in our God, who's Loving Power so supersedes anything the devil and his minions could dole out that at moments like these of great struggle and martyrdom, pain is conquered by Charity!
THREE
St. Isaac Jogues also suffered terrible indignities, torments, and martyrdom. Yet, when you visit this shrine today in Auriesville, New York, just outside of Albany, you find it a place of peace, prayer, and beauty - a far cry from the days of Jogues and companions. It is also the birthplace of St. Kateri Tekakwitha, whose amazing faith life was nurtured as an unbaptized precisely by the seeds planted by the blood of the martyrs. Kateri seemed prepared to live a devout life as a Virgin Christian even before being baptized at age 17, so powerful is the witness of the martyrs. I myself felt such peace and holiness visiting there, I felt the very presence not of the violent persecutions nor of those perpetrators who had hardened their hearts, but rather of those who loved God and neighbor so valiantly. Lord Jesus, nurture us by the blood and witness of your North American Martyrs, that we may not fear “the terror by night, nor the arrow that flies by day” (Psalm 91:5).
FOUR
We must witness against the gods of our day. The late Fr. Gabriele Amorth, one of the exorcists of Rome, offered this insight when it comes to identifying the gods of our age. “Fallen Angels and men who follow Satan base their existence on three principles and practical rules of life: you can do what you wish, that is, without subjugation to God’s laws; you obey no one; and you are the god of yourself.” (Catholic Exchange, Sept 3, 2020). Thus, modern gods fall under one of four categories of disordered desire: Money, Pleasure, Power, or Status. Any person, event, or law that we think offers these things over and above God’s law demands our worship. We, as Catholics, must respond by witnessing by our own lives that these do not rule us, but God alone. By fixing our gaze on our Blessed Mother, we change our hearts from stone to flesh; from selfishness to selflessness; from fear to courage; from angst to joy. Why? Because now we know that the love of Jesus as Son of Mary flows through our veins, and that this love conquers. “In the world you have tribulation. But be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (Jn 16:33).
FIVE
What can we do spiritually to make ourselves strong to withstand? What did the Jesuits do back then to prepare their men? First, they practiced daily Meditation, and moved inspiration to action through resolution. This is how we sharpen our resolve. Next, they studied the truths of the faith as these bring illumination to the mind and clarity to the heart as to how to value what matters. Also, let us frequent sacraments, as this is the source of Divine Power. And lastly, discipline our desires through frequent acts of self-denial. These purify the heart to receive the furnace of Divine Love so strong that normal human beings, some of whom like Jogues who came from comfort and wealth, would leave that, travel around the world, suffer tremendous pains and tortures, only to give up their lives for Christ. For today, let us choose one of these that we are not ordinarily practicing and seek to add it to our daily routine: either better reflection on our rosary meditations, more study of the faith, or disciplinary resolutions.