How the Catholic Faith went underground for centuries in Japan and was preserved by the lay faithful

Sandro Magister, "The 'Hidden Christians' of Japan ..." (Settimo Cielo, October 17, 2017):

Pope Francis has repeatedly expressed his admiration for the “hidden Christians” of Japan, who miraculously reappeared with their faith intact in the second half of the nineteenth century, after two and a half centuries of centuries of ferocious annihilation of Christianity in that country.

But few know the real story of this miracle on the brink of the incredible. It was reconstructed on Thursday, October 12 in a fascinating conference in the aula magna of the Pontifical Gregorian University, by the Japanese Jesuit Shinzo Kawamura, professor of Church history at Sophia University in Tokyo and an author of the most up-to-date studies on the issue.

The complete text of his conference, given at the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Japan and the Holy See, is reproduced on this other page of Settimo Cielo:

>> Pope Pius IX and Japan. The History of an Oriental Miracle

An extensive extract from this is published below. From reading this - which is a must - it can be gathered that what allowed the intact transmission of the Catholic faith, from generation to generation, among those Christians devoid of priests and entirely cut off from the world was essentially an oral tradition made up of a few decisive truths concerning the sacraments and in the first place confession, according to what was taught by the Council of Trent.

It is “Tridentine” Catholicism, therefore, that nourished the miracle of those “hidden Christians.” With its doctrine of sin and of sacramental forgiveness, anticipated in them by repeated acts of perfect contrition, in the absence of a confessor but also in the prophetic vision that one day he would finally arrive.

These were acts of contrition that followed, at times, the sin of apostasy, which involved publicly trampling on the “Fumie,” the image of Jesus, as they were forced to do by their persecutors in order to prove that they abjured the Christian faith, on pain of death....

"HIDDEN CHRISTIANS" IN JAPAN. THE HISTORY OF AN ORIENTAL MIRACLE
by Shinzo Kawamura, S.J.

On January 8, 1867, His Holiness Pope Pius IX dispatched a special message to Fr. Bernard Petitjean of the Paris Foreign Mission Society, who at the time was involved in missionary work in the city of Nagasaki. The purpose of His Holiness was to personally bless an event, which he exuberantly described as a “Miracle of the Orient.”

What he referred to as a “Miracle of the Orient,” was the fact that three years before this message was dispatched, that is, on March 17, 1865, an incident had occurred within one of Japan’s oldest churches, namely the “Oura Tenshudo" of Nagasaki, which is also known as the Basilica of the Twenty-Six Holy Martyrs of Japan.

A group of approximately 15 people, descendants of the Hidden Christians of Nagasaki Urakami, visited the Oura Tenshudo that had just been built, and engaged in a dialogue with Fr. Petitjean.

They spoke to Fr. Petitjean saying: “We are of the same faith as you. Where can we find the image of Saint Mary?”.

No sooner had these Hidden Christians ascertained the fact that Catholic priests had entered Japan, more and more of them began to come out of hiding, and their numbers in course of time exceeded ten thousand.

After having duly confirmed the fact that the faith of these priests was the same as that which had been adhered to by their ancestors 400 years ago, these Hidden Christians returned to the Catholic Church.

Three keywords

These Hidden Christians had endured about 250 years of persecution, due to the prohibitions imposed upon them by the Tokugawa government. Even so, they faithfully continued to preserve their faith, and when they eventually felt that the time was appropriate to do so, they rejoined the Catholic Church. This was indeed a miracle, but my question is, what was it that made this miracle possible?

I now wish to present three keywords that I consider most vital, with regard to the possibility of this Oriental Miracle....

Kawamura goes on to discuss in detail the "three keywords" to understanding the survival of the underground faith in Japan. Essentially, they come down to (1) lay communities that had been organized for the governance of the Catholic faithful in diverse territorial regions of the country since the time of St. Francis Xavier's mission in Japan; (2) the prophecy of a martyred catechist that after seven generations, black ships would arrive and Catholic "confessors" with the authority to forgive sins would return to Japan; and (3) hope of forgiveness in the absence of sacramental Confession through the Tridentine provision that "reconciliation between the individual and God can be attained by true contrition."

In these far-from-ideal conditions, how these Japanese "hidden Christians" were able to preserve and sustain their faith at all is indeed an "Oriental Miracle."

[Hat tip to JM]

Good news! Number of Christians martyred worldwide down by 15,000 last year

The bad news? The number of Christians martyred for their faith in 2016 was 90,000 -- 1 every 6 minutes -- making Christians the most persecuted group in the world. The previous year the number was even higher: 105,000. The statistics were cited by the prominent Italian sociologist Massimo Introvigne in an interview with Vatican Radio, referencing a study produced by the independent Center for Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. [Source]

Women from the Christian community mourn for their relatives, who were killed by a suicide attack on a church, during their funeral in Lahore, March 17, 2015. Suicide bombings outside two churches in Lahore killed 14 people and wounded nearly 80 others during services on Sunday in attacks claimed by a faction of the Pakistani Taliban.

Breaking through 'Silence' ~ The other Jesuit in Japan, who didn't apostatize

This 2014 photo shows human bones unearthed in Tokyo, which researchers believe are of the
18th-century Italian missionary Giovanni Battista Sidotti. | AFP-JIJI
In case you missed it: "Italian priest imprisoned in 18th century may have been influential in Japan’s development" (The Japan Times, June 7, 2016):

Disguised as a samurai in kimono and topknot, Italian missionary Giovanni Battista Sidotti stole ashore on a small Japanese island in 1708, daring to enter a land hostile to his Christian creed.

He was quickly captured by authorities, who saw the alien faith as a threat to national identity. He was thrown into a prison for Christians, where torture was routine.

More than 300 years later, researchers using DNA analysis have confirmed that remains unearthed at a Tokyo construction site almost certainly belong to Sidotti — and say they back up historical accounts of his treatment.

Historians say Sidotti helped shape Japan’s view of the Western world with his knowledge after he won over the nation’s leading scholar of the day. But he fell from grace after refusing to give up his faith and his final days and death have been shrouded in mystery.

Christian missionaries made aggressive inroads in Japan in the 16th and 17th centuries, gaining adherents among commoners and even powerful warlords.

But fears they were an advance guard for European colonialism spurred a brutal crackdown long before Sidotti arrived.

Three sets of bones were unearthed in July 2014 from land that now forms the parking lot of an upscale condominium complex that was once the site of the prison — the Kirishitan Yashiki, or Christian Mansion. Its only reminder today is a stone marker commemorating the spot.

National Museum of Nature and Science researchers near Tokyo carefully cleaned the bone fragments before piecing them together like human jigsaw puzzles in a painstaking process that took more than six months.

Kenichi Shinoda, the museum’s chief of anthropology, analyzed DNA from a tooth and concluded that one of them had the same genetic type as present day Italians.

Japanese historical records show that only two missionaries from Italy had been held at the site, Sidotti and Giuseppe Chiara.

The latter was the model for the main character of a Portuguese priest in Shusaku Endo’s novel “Silence,” which director Martin Scorsese is turning into a film.

As records show Chiara was cremated after his death at 84, the unearthed remains are almost certain to be of Sidotti, who was 47 when he died in 1714, researchers said.

While at the prison, Japanese Christians and foreign missionaries were tormented with demands they renounce the banned religion, and many did so under duress.

While they feared foreign religion, Japanese officials also craved Western knowledge and scientific insights that were harder to obtain under the official policy of national seclusion that started in 1639.

As part of his interrogations, Sidotti was questioned by Japan’s top Confucian scholar, who developed a deep respect for the Roman Catholic priest for his knowledge of geography, languages and global affairs, experts said.

The scholar, the renowned Hakuseki Arai, is said to have tried to help Sidotti but the priest was later sent to the dungeon amid allegations he baptized the Japanese couple tending to his daily needs.

The Italian died there, but it is not clear how, researchers said.

Historical accounts, including those written by Japanese scholar Kotonobu Mamiya about a century later, however, mention that Sidotti was accorded a certain respect and treated far better than other prisoners — even in death.

Researchers say that is backed up by evidence from the remains.

Kazuhiro Sakaue, senior researcher of anthropology at National Museum of Nature and Science, observes a
restored skull believed to be that of Italian missionary Giovanni Battista Sidotti, at a laboratory
in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, in April. | AFP-JIJI
“His body was laid flat in a casket, a luxurious one as far as I can tell by the brackets,” said Akio Tanigawa, professor of archaeology at Tokyo’s Waseda University and lead researcher on the remains, referring to coffin pieces discovered with the bones.

“People did not bury human bodies like this,” Tanigawa stressed, suggesting Sidotti was likely given a burial “in the Christian way.”

He said that in 18th century Tokyo, then known as Edo, people were buried in a sitting up position in a small tub.

The two sets of bones unearthed next to Sidotti’s may be those of the Japanese couple, Chosuke and Haru, researchers said, as at least one was placed in a small tub.

The missionary had a great impact on Japan, Tanigawa stressed, citing books by Arai. An adviser to the rulers of the time, he penned a study of the Western world for which Sidotti is cited as a key source.

“The knowledge shared by Sidotti surely changed Japan’s view of the world,” he said.

[Hat tip to Christopher Blosser]

Related: Amy Welborn, "Reading Silence for the first time" (Catholic World Report, December 14, 2016)

Antonio Socci: "Let's look [the martyrs] in the face"

How can the Church waste time with pseudo-questions, such as "communion for 'remarried' divorceed", when scores of Christians are being slaughtered every single day?


Antonio Socci,"'The Heroism of the Christian Martyrs' - Let's look at them in the face" (RC, February 19, 2015)

THE POPE SHOULD HAVE THE 300 CHRISTIANS AND THEIR BISHOP IN TRIPOLI EVACUATED TO SAVE THEM FROM BEING SLAUGHTERED

We need to look at those 21 young Christians in the face. Rather than deny Christ they underwent martyrdom in Libya and before having their throat cut by ISIS - in reading their lips (which was done) – they were continuously pronouncing the name of Jesus. Like the martyrs of old.

THE NAME OF JESUS

Their Bishop says: “That name whispered at the last instant was akin to the sealing of their martyrdom.” Coptic Christians are strong people, tempered by 1400 centuries of Islamic persecutions. They are heirs to that St. Athanasius of Alessandria, who saved the true Catholic Faith from the Arian heresy, held by most of the bishops [at that time]. They are tough Christians, not like the spineless, tepid-Catholics we are here in the West.

Here’s what real strength is: it’s not what hates and kills the defenseless (even children) and crucifies those who have a different faith, rapes the women - waving a black flag, faces hidden.

The real strength is the one of the defenseless who accept even martyrdom rather than deny their own dignity - that is to say, their faith - giving witness to the wonders of “ the Beautiful Love” as an ancient definition of the Son of God names Him.

Read more >>

"Lord Jesus, receive the souls of these Thy martyrs"

The words are those of our friend, canon lawyer and seminarian Tim Ferguson, about the twenty-one Coptic Christians beheaded by ISIS radical Muslims. Our President, still in his fantasy world where all religious differences can be settled by reasonable men on a golf course, evidently could not bring himself even to refer to the victims as "Christians" or their killers as "radical Muslims." He called the Coptic Christians "Egyptian Citizens." Indeed. It's a wonder he didn't summarily dismiss the acts as "workplace violence."

If you have a heart, pray for the souls of these Christian martyrs. As one commentator wrote: "Even under the blade, some were making their last prayers and as the blade came to their neck they all cried in unison 'Ya Rabbi Yasou’ (O My Lord Jesus) the caption by ISIS stated 'these insisted to remain in unbelief.'” You should force yourself to watch the video of the beheadings even thought it is brutal. Hollywood movies can be as brutal. But this is real.


Then check out the Christian commentary by Walid Shoebat HERE. Wretched times.
[Hat tip to T.F.]

Oscar Romero's Portrait Session

From our undercover correspondent we keep on retainer on assignment in an undisclosed location south of the border, Guy Noir - Private Eye:

Oscar Romero... a fascinating case in the saint making process. Here is Dwight Longenecker weighing in: "My doubts about Oscar Romero" (Crux, February 4, 2015).

I also recall Kenneth Woodward's detailed account of the man in Making Saints. Romero seemed heroic. What would the contemporary churchgoer make of the fact that no one from Rome even attended the guy's funeral, or that St John Paul the Great gave the man a dressing down for his outspokenness only years before his martyrdom? Or how does Bishop Cupich's distaste for public protest of abortion look compared to Romero's attempts to speak truth to power. How much and how strangely the world has changed in 25 plus years! Then there is this perspective that I admit had already crossed my mind as well... Zoe Mintz, "Pope Ends ‘Doctrinal Logjam’ By Calling Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero A Martyr" (International Business Times, February 3, 2015):

Romero was not always considered progressive. In fact, he was appointed archbishop because he was considered a safe and conservative choice. Romero changed his stance after he witnessed the suffering of El Salvador’s poor while serving as a bishop of Santiago de María. On March 12, 1977, the Rev. Rutilio Grande, Romero's longtime friend and a Jesuit priest, was assassinated. This propelled Romero into the political spotlight. He suspended masses the following Sunday at area churches and demanded justice. Pope Francis may have gone through a similar intellectual experience. While serving as Jesuit provincial of Argentina, or the order's leader in the country, he did not display an especially strong tendency to advocate for the poor. After he became archbishop of Buenos Aires, witnessing widespread poverty and the limitations traditional methods like charity had to address people’s needs, his public stance changed. “In this sense Bergoglio [Pope Francis] mirrors a similar conversion that Oscar Romero himself underwent,” Bretzke said.

But then note this subtle switch:

Despite Romero’s association with the controversial ideology, everyday Salvadorians don’t necessarily see him as a face for liberation theology. “Rather, he seemed to be a temperamentally and theologically conservative person who was genuinely moved by the plight of ordinary people under a repressive government,” Bill Portier, a theology professor at the University of Dayton (Ohio) who specializes in U.S. Catholic history, told International Business Times.

That hardly suggests an intellectual change. Isn't it a bit more likely, in the case of Romero and Francis both, that there in fact was an intellectual change, only one that remained rather ethereal or easy to miss given the retention of Catholic vocabulary and ritual and the assumptions of the average churchgoer. The same phenomenon is at work within the large group of Evangelicals who have already "sainted" Bonhoeffer without any recognition whatsoever of his advocacy of "religionless Christianity."


But those versed in liberal theology mince no words. Try on these for size: "Thereis much that this former Archbishop of San Salvador shares with Pope Francis. Both are seen as champions of the people, with an especially keen sense of the godlessness of any system that oppresses and subjugates the poor. Both are unlikely leaders in the Roman Catholic Church, given their support for conservative theology and 'order' prior to their elevation as leaders in the Church. Both surprised their supporters in taking a much more critical stance toward the abuses of capitalism than would have been expected of a conservative leader." There is much more here, and look at the source: Gene Robinson, "Pope Francis Knows: Oscar Romero is the People’s Saint" (Reuters, February 8, 2015). Elsewhere, Frank Raga ["The Church flowed from the Second Vatican Council?" (Shield of Faith, February 5, 2015)] is convinced that as a symbol Romero is the third panel in the uneasy but insistent Vatican II Canonization triptych that includes Popes John and John Paul II and cements a legacy for the Church of Vatican II.


You can judge for yourself, since Plough books is offering an anthology for free: Oscar Romero, The Violence of Love (Plough, 2014).

Adolf Hitler: "Who still talks nowadays of the extermination of Armenians?"

"We must not forget Armenia’s suffering" (Catholic Herald, February 4, 2015):

Armenia has arguably produced more martyrs than anywhere else, given that the victims of the genocide were killed in hatred of the Faith....

... the fateful day: April 24 1915. It was on this day that the Ottoman government began to arrest and deport Armenians who had been living in Anatolia from time immemorial. This organised campaign of arrest, deportation, massacre and extermination led to the deaths of between one million and one and a half million Armenians....

Adolf Hitler’s view of the Armenian genocide is worth recalling, and his reference to it, made in August 1939, worth quoting:

Our strength is our quickness and our brutality. Genghis Khan had millions of women and children hunted down and killed, deliberately and with a gay heart. History sees in him only the great founder of States. What the weak Western European civilization alleges about me does not matter. I have given the order – and will have everyone shot who utters but one word of criticism – that the aim of this war does not consist in reaching certain designated [geographical] lines, but in the enemies’ physical elimination. Thus, for the time being only in the east, I put ready my Death’s Head units, with the order to kill without pity or mercy all men, women, and children of the Polish race or language. Only thus will we gain the living space that we need. Who still talks nowadays of the extermination of the Armenians?

Who indeed? That is why we need to talk about Armenia and remember them this April. Put the date of that hundredth anniversary in your diary now. (emphasis added)

Remember, too, that St Blaise is the only Armenian saint in the Universal Calendar, the solitary representative of his culture. But what a culture! His nation is the oldest Christian nation, converted to Christ by St Gregory the Illuminator in 301, before Constantine, and the nation with arguably more martyrs than any other.

"Persecution Of Christians Reaches Historic Levels, Conditions Suggest Worst Is Yet To Come"

"Persecution Of Christians Reaches Historic Levels, Conditions Suggest Worst Is Yet To Come" (OpenDoorsUSA, January 7, 2015)

Expressing solidarity with Syrian and Iraqi Christian martyrs

I've received a number of inquiries from people wishing to express in some way their solidarity with their fellow Christians in Syria and Iraq being persecuted and martyred for their faith. One such person recently asked where one could purchase a pin or T-shirt or bumper sticker with the Arabic letter 'n' used by ISIS agents to mark houses belonging to "Nazarenes," or Christian, as a warning to convert to Islam or be killed.

When I asked Christopher Blosser, he responded by saying that "the 'Voice of Martyrs' charity (inter-denominational Christian organization) is already doing this (although there are plenty of others, just google-image-search the symbol) or find it on zazzle: http://www.zazzle.com/christian+tshirts"

"If the purpose were to support the martyrs and victims of persecution -- it would probably be preferable to do it via this route, where 50% is going directly to Christians in Iraq.

https://secure.persecution.com/i-am-n/default.aspx?source=WEBBLOG

"VOM’s new i-am-n T-shirt features an image of the Arabic letter “N” similar to those painted on the homes of Christians in northern Iraq by IS (Islamic State). The shirts cost $20 each, and $10 of each purchase will go directly to support our Iraqi brothers and sisters."

Zazzle also has stickers here: http://www.zazzle.com/support_christians_arabic_letter_n_nuun_sticker-217836027176413802

"Religion of Peace" Rebels in Syria Force Christian to profess Islam, then behead him

ADVISORY: DO NOT WATCH THIS AND EXPECT TO BE UNAFFECTED. THIS IS OBSCENE. THIS IS REAL.

Here is a transcript from ChurchMilitant.TV, which carried this story in its August 6, 2014, news broadcast:

A Christian man in Syria recently had his head viciously hacked off by Islamic militants after being forced to deny his faith and salute Mohammed as the "messenger of God."

The incident was caught on video for the world to see and broadcast this morning as a warning everyone like him.

The video that was posted on YouTube with translated captions. The helpless Christian man is surrounded by armed militants wearing masks, and he is heard reciting as instructed "There is no God but God, and I testify that Mohammed is the messenger of God."

"Religion of Peace"??? I'm speechless.

Related:


"Iraqi Christian Refugees call upon the Vatican and the West "Come, Pope in the Vatican!" "America, fix it." "Where are you?"" (RC, August 8, 2014)

"Breaking: Chaldean Patriarchate's Appeal for Urgent Help S.O.S"

1924: Chaldean priests and the orphans under their care in Mosul (Nineveh), Iraq

• "BREAKING: CHALDEAN PATRIARCHATE'S APPEAL FOR URGENT HELP S.O.S." (RC, August 7, 2014)
  
• "Editorial: Qaraqosh falls: A greater punishment is ready for the more mighty" (RC, August 7, 2014)
  
• Joseph Shaw, "Does Islam need the 'Enlightenment'? Op-Ed" (RC, August 7, 2014)
  
• "An Urgent Letter of the Chaldean Patriarch" (RC, August 6, 2014)
  
• "Goodbye, Mosul!" (RC, August 5, 2014)
  
• "A Brave Open Letter, by the Syriac Catholic Archbishop of Mosul: Do not give in to alarm or fatalism: Jesus has conquered the world." (RC, July 31, 2014)

Mordecai, the Middle East, and cheese steak hoagies

ANDRÉE SEU PETERSON, "Allotted boundaries" (World, August 9, 2014):

The cheese steak hoagie I had for dinner makes me wonder why I eat well while people in Burundi, where my brother preached, have beans and cabbage every day. The torching of Christian churches in Syria and Iraq makes me wonder why I get to sit in safety here in Pennsylvania. God is no respecter of persons and He loves all His children, so why does He treat us differently?

The question sparked a mental chain reaction through the Bible. First stop, 2,500 years ago in a secret communiqué from a man at the king’s gate to the chamber of Queen Esther: “Who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14).

I like the combination of the “Who knows” and the unabashed Godward speculation. Mordecai was too humble to say so, but if Esther came to the kingdom for such a time as this, then Mordecai came to the kingdom for such a time as this too. The one who lights the fire under Esther is surely as strategically placed as Esther.

Is it only Esther—and a few key people like Moses and David and Jesus—whom God has had born in the precise century and precise location He desires? The New Testament shows it is not: “And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him” (Acts 17:26-27).

So then God sets the times and dwelling places of all men, not just some “important” men. Not only so, but He discloses the reason: to enhance the possibility of each individual to “seek God” and “perhaps feel their way toward him and find him.” Consider the height and depth and length and breadth of the kindness of God! “Not wishing that any should perish” (2 Peter 3:9), He goes to much trouble to maximize each person’s likelihood to come to Him for salvation.

Back to my cheese steak hoagie question, and the harassing of believers in the Middle East vis-à-vis this writer’s comfort in America. To borrow Mordecai’s phrase, “Who knows” whether God foreknew which individuals would be able to handle persecution without renouncing the faith, and which individuals would buckle if they were pushed too hard? And who knows whether He carefully measured out our sufferings, with tailor-made trials for each believer, “if necessary” (1 Peter 1:6), according to His promise not to let us be tempted beyond our ability (1 Corinthians 10:13)?

Is this not gracious to both—to the one, affording the opportunity for martyrdom and a martyr’s reward (“Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life,” Hebrews 11:35); to the other, affording a heaven he might have lost if he had not kept the faith to the end (Hebrews 2:6)?

"It's over: genocide has been accomplished"

RC reports:

For two thousand years, our dearest brethren saw it all from Mosul: Romanized Greeks, Hellenized Persians, Hellenized Romans from all origins later called "Byzantines", Armenians, Arabs from the desert with a religion of the sword, Egyptians, Crusaders, Mongols, Turks, French and British, "Independence"... Then the clumsiest Empire in history, an Empire unwanted by most voters, unwarranted by the Republic's own Constitution, led by bellicose hawks motivated by God knows what, justifying their actions on untruths, arrived, upsetting a balance that was not the best, but was best of all possible outcomes. Two Vicars of Christ had cried their hearts out in vain warning of the grave danger of an intervention, of the, "extremisms that could stem from it."

Things were never the same.

For years, we have been warning that support for terrorists in neighboring Syria would surely end badly. But even we could not imagine that it would end so badly so fast and over such a vast area. And yet, the insane Empire-builders are still handing billions and billions, and hundreds of millions of dollars to "moderate" terrorists! Where's the outrage? Have you contacted your congressman, senator, president, MP, prime-minister expressing your outrage, begging this madness to stop?

This evening, our brethren the Syrian (Syriac) Catholics and Chaldean Catholics, who worship in the language of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and all other Christians are gone from Mosul. There may be some hidden in various places, but all public signs of their presence are gone. The seat of the Syrian Catholic Archeparchy of Mosul was completely burned down by the terrorist "Islamic State" this very evening, July 18, 2014, several converging reports seem to confirm.**

After two thousand years, it is finished. It's over.*** Who will pay for the lasting damage lying Western politicians created by starting a process that would lead to what not even the first Islamic rulers, thirteen centuries ago, ever did, the obliteration of Christian life and populations? "Revenge is mine, and I will repay them in due time," says the Lord. His judgment over this generation and their rulers will be overwhelming and frightful.

In Mosul, genocide* has been accomplished. Where's the outrage? There's no more outrage, just silence - cut by sounds of blades, gunshots, bombs, and the muezzin's loud calls to prayer.

For further details read more >>


Related: Sign of Genocide (RC, July 19, 2014).

Help save a Sudanese woman facing martyrdom for refusing to renounce her faith

"Sudanese Christian Preparing to Die for Her Faith" (Remnant, May 22, 2014):

Dear Mr. Matt,

I was wondering if you have heard the story about the 27 year old Christian woman in Sudan being persecuted for being a Christian? Her husband has dual citizenship and lives in New Hampshire and is fighting to save his wife's life. She is in prison 8 months pregnant, along with her 18 month old baby boy. As soon as she has this baby she is sentenced to 100 lashes and hanging. My hope is that since her husband is an American, something can be done.

Please let’s spread the word to pray for this dear, brave woman. As a mother of 9 children, I am just heartsick over this. We are praying to St. Philomena. Thank you, Mr. Matt. - Gwen Marbach from Pa

Dear Mrs. Marbach:

Indeed we have. Meriam Yehya Ibrahim Ishag is a Sudanese woman who was born to a Muslim father but was raised by her Christian mother after her father abandoned the family when she was a child. She was never a Muslim, but rather embraced the faith of her mother, an Orthodox Christian from Ethiopia.

The really powerful aspect to this story, however, is that Meriam is at this moment preparing herself for martyrdom. After marrying a Christian, Daniel Wani, a Sudanese immigrant with U.S. citizenship, Meriam was sentenced to 100 lashes for adultery since a court ruled that her marriage to a Christian violated Sudan’s Islamic law. After her conviction, the 27-year-old was given three days to deny her Christian faith. She refused. Let me repeat that: SHE REFUSED!

She, her unborn baby and her 20-month-old son are currently in prison awaiting the execution, which is scheduled to take place sometime after Meriam gives birth to the baby.

The international community is rightfully outraged, and a great deal of pressure is being applied to force the government of Sudan to spare Meriam and her children. In the meantime, this heroic woman presents a shining example to the whole world on how to live the Christian faith…even when asked to die for it.

Remnant readers are encouraged to join the worldwide effort to save Meriam.

Michael J. Matt

IRAN: Christians sentenced with 80 lashes for drinking communion wine

THEN: Fr. Z reports: "In North Africa during the reign of Diocletian, at Abitina, a group of 49 Christians were convicted of celebrating Mass.... They were sentenced to death."

NOW: FNC reports today: "Iran gives Christians 80 lashes for communion wine as UN blasts human rights record."

Atrocities against Syrian Christians

A Chaldean Catholic in our community sent this email:

"POOR CHRISTIANS.....
"UNFORTUNATELY OUR WESTERN MEDIAS NEVER MENTION THE SUFFERING OF THE CHRISTIANS IN SYRIA ... WE NEED TO TAKE ACTION. PLEASE SEND THIS MESSAGE TO ALL YOUR FRIENDS AND RELATIVES"

"Atrocities that the Muslim terrorists are committing in Syria. We have too help the Syrians and especially the Christians who are being slaughtered by these atrociously wicked terrorists. My heart is crying for what is taking place in Syria and unfortunately instead of the West taking action they sit idle and allow Syria to disintegrate and the Syrians be butchered."

Please pray for our Syrian brothers and sisters in Christ. Just as the Western media turned a blind eye to the slaughter of Chaldean Catholics in Iraq, so they are ignoring the plight of Syrian Catholics and other Christians caught up in the horrors of the civil war in Syria.

There is not the least indication that our government is concerned. The Western media is largely indifferent. These Syrian Christians have almost nothing to help them but the communion of the saints, the unity of the Church triumphant with the saints-in-the-making of the Church militant. Your prayers count. So please stop and say a prayer for them now, asking St. Michael in the Holy Name of Jesus Christ to bind the satanic hosts unleashed upon their country.

[Hat tip to N. Yousif]

Sts. John Fisher and Thomas More

A reader writes: "I thought you might appreciate the fact that the death of St. Fisher, and St. More ... were separated by a fortnight": "A Fortnight Later ..." (Nowhere, June 22, 1012).

[Hat tip to T.E.]

The Counts of Jesu Christo, Part II

The Massacre of the Holy Innocents by Fra Angelico
By Michael P. Foley

This article is a companion to an article of the same name in the christmas 2008 issue of the Latin Mass.

It might seem odd to think of anyone else besides the Infant Jesus or the Holy Family during the octave of Our Lord’s Nativity, but the Church in her wisdom does precisely that. Immediately following Christmas Day are the feasts of several holy men and boys known as the comites Christi, “the comrades of Christ.” Comes not only means “companion” but it is also the Latin word for the noble title of count. As this would suggest, the comites Christi are somehow close to their Lord in the way that a royal entourage is close to its king. The Church acknowledges a spiritual intimacy by placing the feasts of certain saints close to that of the birthday of their Sovereign: the Byzantine rite, for example, pays special honor to the Princes of the Apostles, Peter and Paul, by celebrating their feast on December 28.

* * * * * * *
It might seem odd to think of anyone else besides the Infant Jesus or the Holy Family during the octave of Our Lord’s Nativity, but the Church in her wisdom does precisely that.

* * * * * * *
During the same week, the Western Church honors St. Stephen (December 26), the first martyr in both act and desire and hence the first to be honored after Christmas; St. John the Evangelist (December 27), the disciple closest to Christ during the Last Supper; the Holy Innocents (December 28), close to the Infant Jesus by their martyrdom; St. Thomas Becket (December 29), whose death at the hands of a Christian king on this day in 1170 so shocked Christendom that his feast day was given the privilege of remaining within the Christmas octave; and St. Sylvester (December 31), the Pope who lived to see the civic peace that followed the Roman persecutions and whose feast thus aptly gives voice to our prayers for the new civic year.

Three years ago, we looked at the feasts of two such counts, Saints Stephen the Proto-Martyr and John the Apostle.¹ This year we turn our attention to the rest of the Roman rite’s Christmas Camelot: the Holy Infants, St. Thomas Becket, and Pope St. Sylvester.

More than 1000 Catholics slaughtered this week

"Muslims target Catholic priests; Churches burned, more than 1,000 Christians slaughtered(video)" (RWBNews, April 5, 2011):

"At least 1,000 Christians were slaughtered this week in at the Salesian Saint Teresa of the Child Jesus mission in Duekoue, Ivory Coast by Muslim troops loyal to Alassane Ouattara."

Still waiting to hear from the New York Times.

[Hat tip to Roger Lessa]

Preparing for martyrdom

Guillotined by the Nazis on August 9, 1943, Franz Jägerstätter was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI on October 26, 2007. Denver Archbishop Charles J. Chaput uses the story of Jägerstätter as the basis for his article, "New Life in Christ: What it Looks Like, What it Demands" (First Things, May 11, 2009). My purpose here is not to relate the story of Blessed Franz Jägerstätter, which you owe to yourself to read sometime if you don't know it. All I want is to offer you a few excerpts I liked from Abp. Chaput's article:

I want to quote something Franz wrote in a letter to his godson. He wrote: “I can say from my own experience how painful life often is when one lives as a halfway Christian. It is more like vegetating than living.” Believers today are relentlessly tempted to accept a halfway Christianity, to lead a “double life” -- to be one person when we’re in church or at prayer and somebody different when we’re with our friends or family, or at work, or when we talk about politics.

... Jesus didn’t come down from heaven to tell us to go to church on Sunday. He didn’t die on the cross and rise from the dead so that we’d pray more at home and be a little kinder to our next-door neighbors. The one thing even non-believers can see is that the Gospels aren’t compromise documents. Jesus wants all of us. And not just on Sundays. He wants us to love God with all our heart, all our soul, all our strength, and all our mind. He wants us to love our neighbor as ourselves. In other words, with a love that’s total.

... Love the Church; love her as your mother and teacher. Help to build her up, to purify her life and work. We all get angry when we see human weakness and sin in the Church. But we need to remember always that the Church is much, much more than the sum of her human parts.

... And this is crucial: Know and revere what the Church teaches. What the Church teaches is what Christ wants you and everyone else to know¯for our own good and for our salvation. Know what the Church teaches so you can live those teachings and share those teachings with others.

The leaders of today’s secularized societies like to fancy themselves as true humanists and humanitarians. But these same societies justify killing millions of babies in the womb and dismembering embryos in the laboratory. We dispatch the handicapped and the elderly and call it “death with dignity.” ...

Only the Church stands up against these inhuman trends in our societies. It’s your mission, as lay men and lay women, to ensure that Christ’s teaching is preached and explained and defended at every level of our society¯in politics, in the workplace, in the culture.

... Blessed Franz wrote beautiful letters to his wife from prison. In one of them he talked about the great martyrs of the Church. He wrote: “If we hope to reach our goal some day, then we, too, must become heroes of the faith...."

[Hat tip to E.E.]