The photo to the right is of Father Chrysostomus. Theresa tells of his fortitude at the final ludicrously unjust people's trial before he was shot with several of his brothers. Here is just a small section:
Father Chrysostomus Chang plumbed the depths of his human will for a supernatural strength. With only a few minutes remaining of his life in the material world, he lifted his thoughts to the spiritual. Through screams from the mob, he addressed his confreres at his side one last time, to prepare them not for death, but for life, everlasting life.After being shot, the bodies of the holy monks were thrown into a sewage ditch where wild dogs came to lick their blood.
“We’re going to die for God. Let us lift our hearts one more time, in offering our total beings,” he said.
The whole account tells of unspeakable active cruelty combined with the deliberate neglect of basic human needs. To make people walk around in soiled clothes because they have not been allowed to relieve themselves seems to me a particularly diabolical aspect of persecution from the French revolution onwards. It is designed to degrade the humanity of a person and break their spirit. It did not succeed with these holy monks.
On the other hand, Theresa tells a tale of heroism, and the spiritual life lived with perfect fidelity even under the pressure of cruel physical and mental torture.
Do read the whole story. These men should be canonised.
10 comments:
A Trappist monk who had attended the General Chapter of the Order about 12 years ago told us that they had been contacted by an "underground" monastery in China, the monks had amazingly managed to keep the monastery going since the 1950's.
Over the years I asked if they'd heard anything recently.....it seems the monks have once again retreated to the shadows....these are real heroes of the Faith.
Thank you for posting. Read the whole story. Incredible, made me ashamed of my moans and groans, considering what these men went through, for the faith. God bless them and have mercy on their executioners.
Indeed these monks were martyrs and the account given here should ensure that their causes would succeed if introduced, The only thing against it would be if by some chance it was thought it might be "impolite" to publicise these atrocities "in the name of good relations" !
The only thing against it would be if by some chance it was thought it might be "impolite" to publicise these atrocities "in the name of good relations"!
That is the unfortunate reality we find ourselves in. You cannot canonise anybody now, without some lobby group or other world religion having a say. And the pope is only too happy to hear their views too!
Thankyou for giving the link to this. It does put our complaints and depressions in another light. I'm surprised they haven't been canonized, but I think they will be one day.
Martyrdom doesn't sound so glamorous anymore. From the article:
"Helpless, the six Trappist monks stood handcuffed and chained on a makeshift platform, targets of a frenzied hatred that surged toward them. The blood-encrusted, lice-infested men, wearing rags caked in their own filth, had nowhere to run, no one to help them. After six months of mind-bending interrogations and body-rending torture, it was over. It was all over.
"The verdict had just been read by a Chinese Communist officer: Death. To be carried out immediately.
"Hundreds of crazed peasants, with fists raised, with contorted faces, with spit-covered lips, screamed rehearsed slogans of approval for the approaching slaughter."
Are you sure we want to this? Are we really ready to give our lives for Christ? This is the topic of a homily by Fr. Simon (Chicago) that I happened to have spammed about recently. A lengthy excerpt from Fr. Simon’s 2009 homily:
It is a very dangerous thing to take Communion, because you see, you might have to pay up on the oath at some point.
Now you all know I'm from a German background. And we celebrated on Friday the Feast of Maximilian Kolbe, who was Polish on his mother's side and German on his father's side, at a time when Germany and Poland were at war. It's rather personal to me.
Now I'm, of course, born here. My parents were born here. But I, as you know, have cousins over there. I had one cousin, who at the end of the war, was in jail for helping to shelter Jews. And I had another cousin, who was a cousin-in-law, who spent long time, eight years, in a concentration camp in Siberia because he was a tank driver at the battle of Stalingrad. He's one of the few who lived and came back.
The whole nation was swept up in a horrible, horrible cataclysm. And people who were just good, simple, hard-working people were swept along by a society that had gone crazy.
"Couldn't happen here." Well, it is happening here. It is happening here without our even noticing it. The issues of abortion and euthanasia and soon eugenics - they creep up on us, and at some point we have to make the decision. And you see, we have sworn an oath. We've sworn an oath.
And Maximilian Kolbe took that oath very seriously. And he was arrested finally, for two reasons. He sheltered 2000 Jews in a monastery he founded in Poland. Two thousand Jews in a little monastery. And he continued his radio broadcasts criticizing the Nazis.
He was arrested, taken to Auschwitz eventually, and there - there was person who had apparently escaped. They found his body later in a camp latrine - he hadn't escaped at all. But they took 10 men, they said, "we're going starve you to death." By starving, they meant to be deprived of food and water.
And there was one man weeping that he would never see his family again. And Saint Maximilian said, "Take me instead." And the shocked commandant looked at him and said, "All right."
And for three weeks Saint Maximilian lived without food and water. And they came and finally tired of the charade, and they decided to give them an injection, and Saint Max held out his arm, and was injected and died, singing hymns. He was a martyr to charity, to sacrificial love.
He had to pay up on his oath.
~~end quote
http://www.fr-simon.com/2009/08-16-09--20th-Sunday-Ordinary-Time.mp3
Such a gentle looking soul. How sad. It make's me appreciate the fact that I do live in a country that still allows me to practice my Catholic Faith. Please pray for the USA.
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