Martyrdom

As Catholic children, we heard the names "Perpetua and Felicity" read at Mass in the list of the saints/ martyrs, but the names sounded to me so foreign, so "other," that they bore no relationship to the world I knew.  Now that I have had the opportunity to hear about the martyrdom of Perpetua and Felicity, I marvel at these courageous young women, and now that I have heard about similiar martyrdoms happening today, I am still in awe that men and women today have the courage to become Christian in such a hostile culture.

In the year 200, the Roman empire still ruled the known world, and to be a Christian was to be an enemy of the state, to call down the wrath of pagan gods who might be offended by this "unknown" God of the Christians.  Perpetua was 22 and the mother of an infant son when she was arrested with her servant Felicity, who was 8 months pregnant, both of whom had converted to Christianity.  Perpetua had to leave her baby in the care of the Christian community; Felicity delivered her child while still in prison and had to hand over her new-born daughter to friends.  The next day, both were led into the arena to face being torn apart by wild beasts.  Both died in 203 A.D.

A few days ago, I heard that the U.S. Senate was considering a bill to formally protest the case of a young pastor in Iran, who is now in prison and under the formal sentence of execution for converting from Islam to Christianity.  He, too, is considered an enemy of the state, as was Bonhoeffer and others in Germany in 1939 who were executed for sedition against the government.

Yesterday, I wrote about hatred against the Jews.  That same "spirit of hatred and persecution" still exists today in many parts of the world, not only against Jews, but also against Christians.  We may not see it in the free world, but all over the world, Christians are still imprisoned and martyred just because of their faith in Jesus Christ.

In Cuba, in the 60's, Christian pastors and workers were considered enemies of socialism and Communism, and they were imprisoned and tortured.  Those who risked their lives and everything they owned to escape from Cuba did so for a reason.  I remember praying for "political" prisoners in Cuba during the 60's and 70's because I had heard about the torture they were suffering.  Many years later, I met one of those people I had prayed for -- a man who had been stuffed into a small cage on asphalt in the hot sun for days, without food or water.  He could not lie down or stand up or even sit; his body was folded into a cage too small for him to shift position.  He was forced to lie in his body waste until he was released.  Then, because the commander was not yet satisfied that his spirit had been broken, he was immediately put back into the cage for three more days.

His crime?  He believed in Jesus Christ, as he does even to this day.  It was a privilege and a humbling experience for me to encounter this man, whose spirit is still strong and unbroken.  Where does this kind of strength come from?  Surely not from ourselves.  In the face of this kind of suffering and torture, it must be that we are sustained by the Spirit of Jesus Himself. 

"Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil."  Jesus taught us this prayer.  "Temptation" to us means inducement to sin, but the word as used in the New Testament means "the place of trial or testing."  Knowing that gives strong impetus to our prayer.  We need to pray not only for ourselves, but for all those who are facing torture, sickness, fear, and death:  Deliver us from evil!