Gee Cloë, I'm not sure I really know what that means.
Well the word "martyr" means someone who has died for their faith. Unfortunately there are many men and women who have died because they believed in God and other people did not like that. Some were jealous and some were worried that they would lose their power.
This week the Church has four feast days to remember different martyrs.
June 1st was the feast day of Saint Justin.
Justin lived less than 100 years after Jesus died. He was a Samaritan who became a Christian. He and his friends were killed by the Romans because they refused to sacrifice to the Roman gods.
June 2nd was the feast day of Saint Marcellinus and Saint Peter.
These two men lived during the late 200s. While they were in jail (for being Christians) they told their jailer all about God and he and his family became Christians.
June 3rd was the feast day of Saint Charles Lwanga and his Companions.
Charles and his friends were from Uganda, which is in Africa. They lived in the 1800s, so not that long ago. They became Christians after learning about God from the White Fathers, who were and still are missionaries in Africa. The King did not like that they were telling him that he was being cruel and not living a good life. So he had them all killed.
Boniface lived in the late 600s and was from England. He was raised as a Catholic. He became a missionary in the Netherlands as well as Germany. Like other martyrs there were people who did not like him talking about God and the Good News so they killed Boniface along with 30 of his friends.
Boniface was famous for destroying the great Oak of Thor. Those who did not believe in God thought this giant Oak was a god. So they were amazed when Bonfice cut it down and was not harmed by the "gods".
Wow Cloë that sure is a lot of information!
It is Tallulah. The martyrs are a great inspiration to us, because they loved God so much that they put Him above everything else. It is also important to know that there are still martyrs today. We are lucky that here in Canada we can go to church and nobody bothers us, but there are many countries in the world where people do not like Christians and they have to be very careful about what they say and do.
We should pray for those people.
Here is a prayer we can say.
violence and cruelty can have no part with you.
May those who are at peace with one another
hold fast to the good will that unites them;
may those who are enemies forget their hatred and be healed.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God,
for ever and ever.
Well that's lots for today! Woof!
Cloë and Tallulah
No comments:
Post a Comment