the fruit of faith

Martyrs: true defense of the Church
The beatification of 498 martyrs of religious persecution in 1930s Spain will be celebrated in the Eternal City on October 28th

by José Luis Restán

Approval arrived from Rome on April 27th, when the Plenary Assembly of the Spanish Episcopal Conference was under way. The beatification of 498 martyrs of religious persecution in 1930s Spain will be celebrated in the Eternal City on October 28th. This is the successful outcome of numerous causes of beatification that in some cases have been pending for decades, and whose protagonists will be united in a celebration that will express the essential core of the Christian faith. What this beatification reveals is “faith that conquers the world,” testimony that there exists a humanity which is the fruit of faith that will never allow itself to be crushed or reduced by any power.
In a message accompanying this announcement, entitled, “You Are the Light of the World,” the Spanish bishops outlined the historic context of these martyrdoms. The deaths of these hundreds of Christians was the result of unprecedented violence, the fruit of twentieth-century totalitarian ideologies that sought to build utopias by force. For this reason, the bishops stressed that “the witness borne by the martyrs was stronger than the snares and violence of the false prophets of irreligion and atheism.” But in their message they placed the accent on the hope that the martyrdom of those brethren offers the Church, which today is on a pilgrimage in Spain.

Hostility and persecution
Quoting the words of John Paul II, the Pope’s message emphasizes that the martyrs lived by the Gospel amid hostility and persecution, bearing witness with their blood and testifying to the vitality of the Church. Though a superficial glance at the Spanish Church in the thirties might convey the image of a certain mediocrity and drabness in many fields, this impression is surprisingly belied by the flowering of courageous men and women who rejected any compromise that would weaken their profession of faith. They forgave their murderers and offered themselves as pledges for the future reconciliation of the Spanish people. Above all, they raised a barrier to the assertion of totalitarian political power and proclaimed Christ their sole Lord.
This brings to mind a thought expressed by the then-Cardinal Ratzinger. He said that, historically, whenever the Church incurred an excess of “temporalism,” of attachment to worldly power, however justified by the desire to ensure society rested on Christian values, it has been purified by martyrdom. Ratzinger said martyrs are the true defense of the Church, because they turn away from ambiguity and compromise to affirm Christ as Lord. For the previous two centuries, the Church in Spain had a tormented relationship with the civil power and paid a heavy price for placing itself in the convulsive context of an imported modernity. Then, it suddenly found itself facing the alternative between escaping or embracing the risk. The striking number of martyrs clearly reveals which it chose.

Moment of grace
When we reflect on the specific stories of these men and women, all quite different from each other, there always remains an indecipherable trace of mystery that defies human reason. These people were frail and sinners–in many cases they had conspicuous weaknesses–but in the hour of truth they chose not to place their legitimate plans before a proclamation of their unconditional love for Jesus. As the bishops point out, they felt compelled to acknowledge the strength of God, who works through human weaknesses, because otherwise it would be impossible to explain events like these. So, despite attempts to whip up spurious polemics, the bishops believe the beatification will be a moment of grace for the Church in Spain and lead to a revival of the Christian life. This revival is all the more urgent because of the spread of a cultural and political secularism that demands a response from Spanish Catholics that has to go beyond a mere reaction. It is also undermining the reconciliation laboriously sought by several generations of Spaniards.
It’s clear that the only support for Christians is a living faith in the communion of the Church, and not the support or cover provided by any institution, regime of opinion, legislation, or power. It also tells us that there are no circumstances, however difficult, that can prevent us from experiencing the human victory of faith, and indulging in complaints is often just an alibi to avoid setting our faith above everything else.