What has happened to the devoted Christians of the world? In days gone by there were countless numbers of people whose faith was so steadfast that they were willing to give up everything, even their own lives, to advance the Christian faith. On May 6, 1527 Rome was sacked by mercenary soldiers of the Holy Roman Empire. The only resistance was made by the Papal Swiss Guard who defended the Vatican against hopeless odds. While others escorted the Pontiff to safety in Castel SantAngelo, the Swiss Guard sacrificed 142 of their number, including the guard commander, a casualty rate of about 75%, but taking more than 800 imperial troops with them. Still today, May 6th is the most important date for the Swiss Guard, when they remember the devotion and heroism of those who gave their lives to safeguard Pope Clement VII from his enemies.
When Pope Urban II called for a crusade to free the Holy Land and save the Eastern Empire from Muslim domination, thousands of Christians, from the wealthiest aristocrats to the poorest peasants, answered the call and took up the cross to defend their brother Christians. When the Papal States were under attack in the 1860's and Pio Nono called on the Faithful to defend the Church, volunteers came from Spain, Canada, France, Ireland, Austria and Switzerland to answer his call. These people were willing to fight and die for their beliefs, how many of these are there today? Throughout the history of the Church, countless missionaries have suffered the most cruel privations, even torture and martyrdom, to bring the Faith to all the people of the world. How many of these are there today, particularly of the Catholic Church?
Now, Pope John Paul II is not asking everyone to go to Africa or China and try to convert people at the risk of your own life, and he is certainly not asking for anyone to take up arms and go into battle to defend the Church. All that is required of us is that we be an example to those around us, that we be open about our faith and defend our religion in our everyday lives, that we live as Christ taught us to live and keep his commandments. Yet, how many seem to be willing to do even that? More and more people today seem perfectly willing to just 'go with the flow'. Where would we be today if the early Christians had adopted this attitude?
I hear an awful lot of talk about peer-pressure, and the fear of standing out, which I can sympathize with honestly, but we have to ask ourselves: if the fear of public ridicule is too much for us, what would we have done if we lived in the Rome of Nero or Diocletian, when torture and death, instead of only ridicule, was the fate of a true Christian? What would we do then? Would we be martyrs or would we go ahead and join the crowd for fear of retaliation?
Things may in fact get better before they get worse, on the other hand, they may not. I only say this because, someday, maybe years, maybe centuries, I do believe that Christianity will once again be a hunted and persecuted religion and many, many people will face the same choice that St Peter himself faced: leave in fear or stand and die for the faith. According to the Scripture, only those who give their lives can save them, and it is important for the world to know that if you abandon Christ and the true belief just to save your own skin, your safety will only be temporary and your suffering will one day be eternal. That is not a pleasant thing to discuss, but let's face facts, Hell is a real place and will be filled with real people if we all do not repent.
If you fear being embarassed by being a Christian, consider how embarassing it will be to stand before the King of kings when He reads out the record of your life and says, "Depart from me, I never knew you". That is a situation I think about alot and it is one that never fails to move me. With a little bit of simple devotion, with a tiny seed of child-like faith in the here and now we can enjoy hearing the most beautiful phrase in the universe in the eternal hereafter, the phrase the brings tears to my eyes just to imagine it, when Christ the King reads out the record of your life as you kneel prostrate before Him, and then says those greatest of all words, "Well done, |
