+ It was through the missionary efforts of various religious
families, beginning in the sixteenth century and continuing until
1866, the Vietnamese people heard the message of the gospel, and many accepted
it despite persecution and even death. On June 19, 1988, Pope St. John Paul II
canonized 117 persons martyred in the eighteenth century.
Among these were nine-six
Vietnamese, eleven missionaries born in Spain and belonging to the Order of
Preachers, and then French missionaries belonging to the Paris Foreign Mission
Society. Among these saints are eight Spanish and French bishops, fifty priests
and fifty-nine lay people. These martyrs gave their live not only for the
Church but for their country as well. They showed that they wanted the gospel
of Christ to take root in their people and contribute to the good of their homeland.
On June 1, 1989, these holy
martyrs were inscribed in the liturgical calendar of the Universal Church on
November 24th.
Our first reading today from
the Book of Revelation beautifully describes the definition of the “firstfruits
ransomed from the earth”: the hundred and forty-four thousand martyrs who
follow the Lamb wherever he goes: “on their lips no deceit has been found; they
are unblemished.” St. Andrew Dung-lac and companion martyrs are assuredly among
this number.
The gospel passage today speaks
of another kind of “martyrdom” that we all can participate in: the “white
martyrdom” of total self-gift and sacrificial care for others. Even the poorest
of the poor can do these things for one another: and the reward will be great
in heaven: a place at the throne of the Lamb is assuredly reserved.
Lord,
we all long to see your face. Help us this day to sacrifice
for us, and thus one day reach you and the thousands upon thousands who have
gone before us.
Amen
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