The Beauty and Power of White Martyrdom

In white martyrdom we continue to live, but we lose our livelihood, our peace and our way of life, because of what we believe.

The bakers who would not make a wedding cake for a homosexual “wedding” are white martyrs. Even today, having won their court case, they still struggle to stay in business.

Our white martyrdoms are usually loss of social “face”, embarassment, humiliation, and ostracism. Sometimes we lose our jobs.

Are we willing to love God and neighbor enough to face white martyrdom”? Is this really what God wants?

written by Laura Weston, widow of Deacon Michael

IF YOU LIKE, READ ALONG WHILE YOU ARE LISTENING:

That portion of the gospel of Matthew makes Christianity virtually unique because Christianity, by the very core of its definition, is an evangelizing religion. Now, we have Islam.  Islam usually converts by conquering.  But Christianity, yes, in the past it has done it by conquest, but, evangelizes.  It persuades.  And why does evangelization occur?

First, Jesus calls us to do it.  He just explicitly says it.  And I always love this one.  It is one of my favorites.  "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."  I love that because of the baptism part.  I love baptizing.

But there is something intrinsic to what he is saying.  Something that we as Catholics believe.  It is... the depository of the truth is in the Holy Catholic Church!  The means to salvation in its totality is in the Holy Catholic Church. And I love you Betty and I want you to be saved.  I want you to spend all eternity in heaven and I want you to be Catholic.

By definition that's what we are.  We are called to go out to all the world and to bring the truth of our Lord Jesus Christ to the world. 

And guess what?  Sometimes the world doesn't like it.  And this is how we end up with martyrs.  In many instances that is exactly how we end up with martyrs.  The Iroquois up in French Canadia, Canada, which is now called French Canada for obvious reasons, that area, they had it made.  They were the dominant power in that area.  If they needed to have something, they just raided someone else.  They conducted war.  They were great warriors.  They were powerful.  Along come the Jesuits.  They go to the weak people and they convert them.  And these people believe in something other than the fear of the Iroquois.  They are becoming different.  And the Iroquois are finding out about it and they are going, "Whoa, hey this is pretty neat.  Maybe we need to check that out."  The Iroquois don't like that.  The Iroquois leaders don't like that.

And so what happens.  You have the classic conflict between social power and religion.  The interface that creates martyrs.  If something comes in and upsets the ordinary course of being, you end up with an interface that creates martyrs and that's exactly what we have with the martyrs that we have today.  They went into an environment and brought them to conversion because... “guess what Robert, you're wrong and I'm right.  And you will continue to be wrong until you believe the way I believe.  And I know the way I believe is right because I am a believer in the Holy Catholic Church and I do what the Lord Jesus Christ says, and you are wrong and you need to change.”  It creates an antagonism.

And the question then is... do we have it within ourselves to be martyrs? Do we?  The Farmer's Branch police department is going to be coming over on Sunday and they are going to separate us into two groups.  The first group is going to be those willing to give up their Catholic faith in return for not being shot by the police department.  The other group is going to be the group of people shot.  Which group are you in?

Actually, let me make it a little bit easier.  Fr. Michael, or Fr. Giuseppe is going to give a homily this Sunday, and this is not true so you don't have to get all upset about it beforehand, but Fr. Michael and Fr. Giuseppe are going to Mass and the are going to say, "People, the Humanae Vitae encyclical is right and you have to change your lives in accordance with what Pope Saint Paul VI said in Humanae Vitae.  Guess who's going to be a martyr.  Whoever gave that homily.  Why?  Because people don't like the teachings of the Catholic Church.

You would have an out and out rebellion at Mary Immaculate Church if that homily was given.  If you go into certain places and preach the truth of the Holy Catholic Church as presented by the Church you are going to have a rebellion on your hands.

Go to the Dallas Republican Party.  Go and they’re going to have a convention and they are all going to be there and walk in there with a prepared speech with footnotes every place you could possibly want them, and preach to them the social teaching of the Catholic Church with regard to labor unions, with regard to the poor, with regard to taxes, with regard to every subject regarding the teaching of the Church and see if you are able to walk out of that place without being lynched.

We face these realities in our lives.  We hear people say things.  We don't contradict them because we're afraid.  "I can't say that!  I can't go to a young woman and say, 'You should not and cannot use artificial birth control, you can't have sex before marriage, and when you have sex with your husband the natural consequence of that is babies.  And you need to have your babies and not abort them.  You need to accept what God gives you.'"  You want to be unpopular; you tell somebody that.  In that Church right there [pointing outside the chapel], you tell them that.

Do we have the courage to be martyrs?  Do we have the courage to do what is necessary?  I'll tell you, unless Fr. Michael explicitly gave me permission, I would not give a homily on Humanae Vitae.  Not because of the consequences on me.  If they kicked me out of the diaconate I have just picked up 10 hours, 12 hours a week.  Okay.  But the consequences on him, on this Church.

Do you have in yourself the ability to be a martyr?  Because we believe the depository of the truth is the Holy Catholic Church; that's why I want Betty to convert.  I believe that everybody should have the opportunity of eternal life and the way that they should get it is through the Holy Catholic Church.  And I believe the Magisterium.  I believe in the truth.  I believe the teachings of the Holy Catholic Church totally and completely.

And then why am I not willing to propound it?  Why am I am not willing to tell Mayve that she is wrong?  “Mayve [Mayve is not being reprimanded, she is not of child-bearing age], you should not use artificial birth control.  Period.  If you don't want babies, don't have sex.  That's the best contraceptive you could possibly have.”

Why don't we do it?  Are we willing to be martyrs?  It's something I say we need to think about.  Our faith.  But think of that in the context of becoming a martyr within our Holy Catholic Church.

October 19, 2018