My Dear Parishioners,
When I think of the person who sells everything to buy the pearl of great price, I think of the martyrs. I think of that true and beautiful expression: the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church. How true is that expression!
A martyr is truly a witness to the Glory of God, as the Modern Catholic Dictionary states: a martyr is a person who chooses to suffer, even to die, rather than renounce his or her faith or Christian principals. After the example of Christ one does not resist one’s persecutors when they use violence out of hatred or malice against Christ, or His Church, or some revealed truth of the Catholic religion.
Yes, the martyrs went to their deaths to preserve their own souls, but they also went to their deaths in the image of Our Blessed Savior and the Blessed Apostles. They went to their deaths so that true religion would be passed down to future generations and spread throughout the world. How much did the martyrs love us and show their love for us, without ever knowing us!
We, in turn, show them due honor by remembering their feasts, imitating their zeal, and seeking their intercession. As St. Augustine teaches with great authority and power: The martyrs are perfected in righteousness, and they earned perfection through their martyrdom. For them, the Church does not pray: for the other departed faithful she prays, but not for martyrs. They have gone out of this world so perfected that instead of being our clients they are our advocates.
Often when reflecting on the martyrs, we think of the early Church. We seldom think of colonial era America. Yet, there were many martyrs in Colonial era America.
Over 1,000 Catholics were martyred in what was Spanish territory and would later become the Southeastern part of the United States. They suffered and died at the hands of English Protestant authorities. They died rather than to give up the Most Holy Eucharist, our Blessed Mother, and True Religion. I am including an excerpt from an article from the National Catholic Register on their truly inspirational story.
Let us pray for the Beatification of the Martyrs of La Florida and let us continue to seek the intercession of the martyrs. Through their prayers, may we always hold fast to the pearl of great price, our Catholic Faith.
St. Joseph, Patron of the Church and our Patron, pray for us!
Fr. Michael J. Pawelko, Pastor