{"id":161084,"date":"2025-02-04T01:00:32","date_gmt":"2025-02-04T06:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/?p=161084"},"modified":"2025-01-28T22:11:00","modified_gmt":"2025-01-29T03:11:00","slug":"the-merits-of-martyrdom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/the-merits-of-martyrdom\/","title":{"rendered":"The Merits of Martyrdom"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Dear Friends in Christ<\/strong>,<\/b><\/h2>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

February 6 is the feast day of St. Paul Miki and Companions, martyrs for the faith in late 16th-century Japan.<\/p>\n

They were a diverse group: priests, religious brothers, laypeople. Some were Jesuits, others were from the Franciscan family.<\/p>\n

Their bravery in the face of martyrdom is rightly commemorated by the Church.<\/p>\n

But curiously, their sacrifice seems to have brought modest fruits.<\/p>\n

More than four centuries after their deaths, the Catholic population in Japan makes up only about one-third of 1% of the nation.\u00a0Perhaps the deep roots of faith planted in the time of Paul Miki and others will take a few more centuries to fully bloom in the Land of the Rising Sun.<\/p>\n

Evangelization is rarely a straight-forward or quick process. The faith can blossom in places unexpectedly but flounder in others.<\/p>\n

Then again, the merits of martyrs in one country can easily be applied by Our Lord to other nations. We might not know until the Last Judgment.<\/p>\n

This is a reminder that we won\u2019t always immediately see the fruits of our own sacrifices and prayers. Our prayers today might lead to a conversion of a loved one long after we have passed from this world.<\/p>\n

That is why it\u2019s important to pray and work with great purity of intention, and to seek the glory of God (and not our own) at every moment.<\/p>\n

If that sounds like a tall order, we can count on the nourishment Our Lord offers in the Eucharist.<\/p>\n

To reinforce your confidence in such a great sacrament, consider praying with our Retreat Guide on the Eucharist, Food for the Journey<\/a>.<\/p>\n

And remember that Paul Miki and his companions left their mark on Church history, even if the society of the day didn\u2019t accept them.<\/p>\n

In Christ,<\/p>\n

Father Edward McIlmail, LC
Ask a Priest<\/a> contributor<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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