HOMILY FOR THE MEMORIAL OF STS ANDREW DUNG-LAC AND HIS COMPANIONS, MARTYRS.
THEME: Stand erect, hold your heads high!
BY: Rev Fr Oselumhense Anetor (Uromi Diocese)
Rev.18:1-2,21-23,19:1-3,9; Luke 21:20-28
Two great cities are condemned today in the readings; Babylon, because she had become the haunt of devils and a lodging for every foul spirit and dirty loathsome bird, and Jerusalem, because it had been caught up in the age of the pagans. When signs appear in the moon and stars, and nations groan in agony; when men and women die in fear as they await what menaces the world; then the Son of man will come with power. It will be the time to stand erect and hold our heads high, because liberation will eventually come from within the chaos.
RELATED: YEAR II: HOMILY FOR THURSDAY OF THE 34TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME.
Every day, evil attempts to overcome good. But Pope St John Paul II, the same one who canonized the 117 Martyrs we celebrate today, assures us that good always overcomes evil. Of the 117 Martyrs, there were 96 Vietnamese, 11 Spanish, and 10 French; comprising 8 Bishops, 50 priests, and 59 lay people. Of these, 72 were beheaded, 22 strangled, 6 burned alive, 5 torn to pieces while still alive, and 9 died of torture in prison. Did you know that Vietnam was so hostile to Christians that over 130,000 of them were killed in several persecutions from 1625-1886? Friends, these Martyrs stood erect with their heads high even in the face of death. What’s our own attitude to witnessing? May God help us.
Good morning dear. God bless your day ahead. St. Andrew Dûng-Lac and his companions, pray for us.
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