Martyr, Blessed, Saint, atbp.

Title

Creator

De La Rosa, Rolando

Language

English

Year

1981

Rights

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Fulltext

SARILING AT!N\ In our times, words that were once of great significance to us Christians have gradually lost tlieir savor. “Giarity” has been associated with lottery draws, asylums, or orphan ages. “Redemption” is applied to cen ters where you exchange winning coupons for your prize. “Hope” is the name of a woman, or the family name of a comedian, or of a luxury cigar ette. “Martyr” is the role played by the abandoned mother or jilted wife in our favorite soap opera. No wonder, if a guy comes to tell us that he is a martyr, we eye him with suspicion. Ether he is a masochist or simply a dodo. We would not spare him even the peel of an onion The “Blessed,” how about them? Oh, they are now commonly known as the beatos and the beatas, forever kneeling on their favorite church pews, sibilantly praying to their favorite saints. And the “saints”? They are the dolled up images and statues we wipe with our hankies as we bombard them with supplications which we, our selves, hardly work far to realize. There are other words, great Chris tian words, which have been dragged down from their places of respect ability because of disuse, abuse, misuse, or plain ignorance on our part. ‘ Do you know what an ‘ascetic’ is? ” I asked one of my friends the other day. “Oh, that” - he replied - “that sounds sour, ”! He had in mind acetic add, commonly known as vine gar. “How about a hermit? ” “Gee”, he beamed, “he surely stinks. He looks like a guru.” Undaunted, I asked him another: “What about a monk? ” He thought for a while, then innocently replied: “Is that short for monkey? ” I gave up, words. Come February, a Fili pino will be beatified by Pope John Paul II (no less) here in the Philip pines. Lorenzo Ruiz, the first Filipino Martyr, will henceforth be called Blessed and perhaps, in the near fu ture, be called Saint. Martyr, Blessed, Saint, Atbp. The questions you would probably ask are: “What is meant by the word “ bbatify’? ” What really is a martyr? a blessed? A saint?” For unless you konw all these words in their truest meaning, Pope John Paul II shall have come and gone and all that is left to remember would be: “He paid a friendly visit.” So, what is Beatification? Beatification comes from’the Latin word beatus, which means happy, blessed, or holy. To beatify, then, means to make or declare happy, blessed, or holy. In Church usage, beatification is the act by which the Church, through an official decree by the Pope, permits a certain region, nation, or religious institute to venerate publicly under the title Blessed, a dead person whose life is marked by holiness or heroic practice of the virtue. By beatifying a person, the Church recognizes his holiness, and thereby proposes him to all Christians for veneration, as a model for Christian living, and as an intercessor before God. . It is not easy to be beatified. Nor is it easy for the Church to arrive at the verdict to beatify a person. First of all, it is not easv io be holy. Let us face it: we do not want to be holy, or at least, not now when we are still enjoying life. “My God,” a modem man prays, “Keep away from me the temptation of sanctity. It is not my work. Don’t be mistaken, I am not of that sort that can.” Or, perhaps we really desire holiness blit confronted by its de mands, we bargain like St. Augustine who prayed for conversion but adds: “But please Lord, not now! ” In truth, holiness is not the prero gative of a few. The invitation to holiness is offered to all - without exception. What are we called mem bers of a Holy Catholic Church for? ” “But I am not the sort of person who can become a saint,” you complain. Now, who is the sort of person who can? The answer is: everyone. Lorenzo Ruiz, for instance. Who could have thought that he was to become a martyr? His life did not depict the history of an exemplary Christian who followed a straight course, restful, placid, always focused on one goal which is heaven. He was, rather, just like any one of us: an ordinary person, lost in tne crowd, lived a confused life, married, with three children, poor, involved in a crime, a fugitive. And yet, after more than 400 years of serious investigation, it was found out that he was not that ordinary, after all. He was a man apart. He was a man among men. And why It was because when the invitation to holiness was extended to-him (and such an invitation comes without warning), he accepted it willingly and responded generously. In Lorenzo’s example, we see that holiness is open for everyone. The only thing it takes to become a saint is the willingness to try. Of course, even this willingness is itself part of the invitation. God masterminds it all in His own loving, mysterious way. So, come February, Lorenzo Ruiz, a Filipino, a “sariling atin” will be beatified. We know what it mearts to' us! If Lorenzo was the first, he will not be the last. All of us, with God’s grace, are capable to reach such heights. Rage 14 CROSS How about the martyr? The martyr, as mentioned above, has been consigned to soap operas. Criginally, however, their place was the arena where, amidst the blood thirsty mob of unbelievers, they wit nessed to their faith by dying. A martyr, in its original meaning, is simply a witness. Anyone, then, who witnesses to his faith by words, or by deeds, is a martyr. In this sense, all of us Christians are called to be martyrs because we are to witness to Christ in an infinity of possible ways. Later, however, martyrdom has been restricted to witnessing to one’s faith through death. This was partly dictated by history. Christianity, as we know, has not always been welcome among men. There had been times when to say openly “I am a Christian” is to court death. Thus, come the close connection between witnessing and dying. Death itself became an effective testimony of what one believes. A Christian martyr was one who shed his blood for Christ. “For Christ” are the• crucial words. For a martyr never dies for an ideology (as the Marxist does) but for a person who is considered as Lord. Lorenzo’s martyrdom is beauti fully phrased by his own words: “Had I many a thousand lives, I shall offer all for Him. ” In so few a word, Lorenzo has acknowledged what Christ meant for him. And thus must have set his perse cutors and observers asking: What is so attractive in Christ that this person is willing to give even his own life for Him? This question might have been choked back or stifled with superfi cial answers but if pursued, such a question might have led them to be lief. For that is one of the purpose of martyrdom - to make men ask ques tions which will lead them ultimately to Christ. “The blood of martyrs is the seed of Christians” are words that reveal the relevance of martyrdom, es pecially to unbelievers. So, Lorenzo Ruiz will be beatified in February as the First Filipino martyr. Does this mean that we too. have to go to Japan in imitation of Him? Must we go to China or Russia and risk our lives? ” We need not. Although all of us are called to be martyrs (that is, witnesses to our faith), we are not all called to a bloody martyrdom. For all we know, God might not be asking us now to shed our blood but our complacency, and our indifference: He is asking us to shed our status as run-of-the-mill Christians. Indeed, we need not go to unbelievers and proclaim our faith to them. Around us are “believers” who are searching for Christ. Would it be too much to play the martyr and lead them to Him? Besides, what is more inspiring than to hear someone tell us: “I have found Christ when I found you! ” This is worth all the dying we might go through. And Finally, the Blessed and the Saints Again, there is nothing like tracing a word from its roots. “Blessed” and REPUBLIC EXTERMINATING COMPANY Established in 1946 SKILLED, HONEST AND CONSCIENTIOUS SERVICE IN PEST CONTROL Pre treatment (soil poisoning) Extermination of structural pests (anays, unos and bukbok) Rodents Spraying and Fogging of Flying and Crawling Insects (Roaches, Flies, Mosquitoes. Ticks, Fleas, etc) BRO. FRANCISCO DE LOS REYES President/General Manager S.K. FROILAN H. TANGHAL Vice-President S.K. TONY R. TANGHAL Treasurer S.K. APOLONIO REMANDO Field Operation Manager Rm-401 PCIBBldg. Plaza, Sta. Cruz, Manila “Saints” are English equivalents for the Latin “Beatus” and “Sanctus” respectively. Beatus means (as men tioned earlier) holy, happy, or blessed. Sanctus means Sacred, sanctified, and also holy. Before, beatus and sanctus are interchangeably used. A beatus is also a sanctus. A holy man is also a happy man. A saint is person who is blessed. Later, with the fixing of the juridical processes which precede the proclama tion of a saint, beatus and sanctus became technical words: the Blessed being a title applied to a beatified while the Saint is a title reserved for the canonized. Canonization, then, is the act, whereby the Church, through a papal decree finally and definitively (and therefore, infallibly) proclaims a person as a Saint. Beatification is nearly always a stage preceding it. In both cases, the same rigorous proofts of eminent virtues is demanded. • ROLANDO DE LA ROSA, OT. Fumigation of Crates, Van containers Barges and warehouses Control of Pests on Lawns, Plants and Trees; Eradication of Weeds on Lawn, Garden Parks and Agricultural Lands Tel. Nos. 40-24-96 4049-07 47-51-63 JANUARY-FEBRUARY, 1981 Rage 15

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