+ St. Justin, whose memorial we celebrate today, is a very important second
century saint. At this time in history of the Roman Empire, and Church history,
what was hoped to be an experiment gone awry had staying power. The Romans knew
they had a formidable foe in the new Church of Rome, the Catholic Church in its
infancy. But though an infant chronologically, the Church was a fierce opponent
to the world and its ways, a fierce opponent to the ways of the Emperors who
thought themselves to be gods among a great many gods in the pagan pantheon.
It was such a pagan who
converted to Christianity at age 30 by reading the Scriptures and witnessing
firsthand the heroism and faith of the first martyrs of the Church. These
things impressed Justin of Samaria very much. Justin was born to wealthy Greek
parents, was well educated and a student of many philosophies. But coming to
full maturity he knew that the only true
philosophy was the Christian one: he believed that the word of truth
came to all people, but that it resided fully in Jesus Christ who was the very
essence of the Church of Rome! And so, with his keen mind, deep faith, and
oratorical skills, Justin became one of the first apologists of the faith: an
explainer and defender, using words both written and spoken!
The
cross of Christ – which Justin preached and taught – was a great threat to Rome – the victory
of a dead man, who is still alive – was too much for them to comprehend – but
this did not deter Justin from doing what he was called to do: to stand up for the faith, stand up for
Christ, stand up for the Church.
We are called to do the same –
especially with the repaganization of
society that is unfolding in our world every day. Especially when the wiles and
cunning deceptive machinations of the Evil One are seen on the world stage,
even our own national government. We must
let our lights shine – the light of
faith – so that the elected representatives in Washington, and indeed the entire world can see: and so that we
all may give glory to our Father in
heaven! – and a kingdom of justice, peace and love will firmly take root on the
earth, as it is destined to, eventually.
Time and circumstances would
lead to the Roman authorities’ attempts to silence Justin – as a threat to the
supremacy of the Empire – and so in 165 he was beheaded in Rome. I ask you this
question: how far are we willing to go to “stand up” for our faith in the
Person of Jesus Christ – God’s only Son, our Lord, our Brother and our Friend?
Justin is considered then
above all a great martyr and the first great Christian philosopher.
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