“Martyrdom is the translation of a Greek word that also means witness. . . and so we can say that for a Christian the path follows in the footsteps of this witness, Christ’s footsteps, to bear witness to Him and, many times, this witness ends up in laying down one’s life. You cannot understand a Christian without witness. We are not a ‘religion’ of ideas, of pure theology, beautiful things, of commandments. No, we are a people who follow Jesus Christ and bear witness – who want to bear witness to Jesus Christ – and sometimes this witness leads to laying down our lives”. ~Pope Francis, Morning Homily, May 06, 2014
Being a Witness for Christ
Today is the feast day of three Romans who were martyred for their faith in Jesus. I wonder if I would have the courage to die for my faith and pray that God will help me do so if ever I was so challenged. The early Christians were such great role models, and we know there are also many who died in the past century and who are being persecuted even now because of their Christian beliefs. I guess we should not be surprised, as Jesus himself was put to death.