We are called to become martyrs – Martyrs of love!

By Charles Muchiri

 Yesterday we celebrated a Feast day of two great fathers of the church – St Peter and Paul. We celebrate them; saluting their respective great works, two men who can as well lay claim to the foundation of the Church as we know it at present.

Fr Thomas Njue, OSB reminds me that Peter was crucified upside down courtesy of King Nero’s tyranny.

Fr Thomas: “St Paul was executed at Rome in late 66 or early 67 effectively reversing the role of the persecutor to become the persecuted.”

I had a chance of attending lunchtime Mass at the Holy Family Basilica and the Homily of the day was very nourishing. The Priest who celebrated Mass had weaved his Homily against the story of these Martyrdoms of St Peter & Paul.

“St Peter and Paul shed their bloods to death; for the sake of their Faith,” he said. “We are called to become martyrs, not martyrs through the shedding of our very own blood but martyrs of love; always ready to give up anything – everything, for the sake of love!” he concluded.

He also took note on how the two saints were individuals who were not perfect in a number of ways. Peter was a little hesitant to believe that Christ was really rose from the dead. He (and the other Disciples) had opted to go back to their respective ways of live after Christ’s death.

Fr Thomas observes of St Pauls flare person thus: “His physical appearance is described in the Acts of Paul, which was written about a hundred years after his death: "a little man. His legs were crooked, but his bearing was noble. His eyebrows grew close together and he had a big nose.”

Nothing much to write home about him!

According to Fr Thomas, Paul’s death was even more astonishing! “Tradition says he was beheaded on the Ostian Way. He was beheaded, on the same day as St. Peter was crucified, on 29th June 65 A.D. When his head was struck off it bounced three times on the ground and at each place a fountain of water sprang up. The spot is venerated as the Tre Fontane and the fountains are still flowing,” notes Fr Thomas.

  

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