Sobering Statistics. An early Christian teacher, named Tertulian, wrote that the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church. Attacked because of their faith, killed in a robbery, or murdered in a general climate of violence, this past year 20 missionaries died violent deaths and became seeds of the Gospel. Presenting its annual list of missionaries killed during the year, Fides (the news agency of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples) reported that 8 priests, 3 religious sisters, 1 religious brother, 2 seminarians, and 6 laypeople made up the list of martyrs for 2020. Over the past 20 years, 535 missionaries have been killed. The murdered missionaries shared the life of the people with whom they lived and in far too many cases, they also shared the same kind of violent death. Michael Nnadi, 18, was one of four seminarians kidnapped in Nigeria. Over a period of two weeks in January, three were released. Nnadi’s body was found on February 1. The gang leader who confessed to his murder said he kept preaching the Gospel of Christ to his gang. Two of the lay people killed were 10 and 12 year old sisters. They were hacked to death in Nicaragua in a pattern of violence against women and girls. Another was Fr. Roberto Maigesini, a priest from Como, Italy, who was stabbed to death by a mentally ill homeless man he was trying to help. In all, 8 of the victims were murdered in central and South America, 7 in Africa, 3 in Asia, and 2 in Italy.
When Fides started publishing the annual list, it focused primarily on foreign missionaries or pastoral workers in mission lands. The word “martyr” literally means witness. Where all met violent deaths serving others in the Lord’s name, the term martyr is avoided so as not to make the judgement that the church might officially make for them. Fides also noted that the numbers would be much higher if they were to consider the number of priests, religious and pastoral workers who have died serving those suffering covid. In Europe alone (where over 400 priests have given their lives) this group is second only to the number of doctors who have died caring for the sick.
Each Catholic by his/her baptism is called to be a missionary. They do so when they bring the Gospel of Christ to others by their words and their deeds. In other words when we feed the hungry, clothe the naked, welcome the alien, care for the sick, visit the imprisoned, and bury the dead. The sobering statistics tell us we have a long way to go in building the kingdom. But they also tell us that the church is alive and well; for the message of the Gospel has taken root in the heart of many faithful people who continue to love and serve even in the face of suffering, violence and hatred. As disciples of Christ we are called to be people of peace who love their God and their neighbor. May we never lose sight of our calling.
Father Jeff
This weekend marks the end of the Christmas season. Please remember to pick up your ornament from the trees in front of the church. Thank you for supporting our community.
#prayforeachother
