Jul 11 2008
Fridays with the Church Fathers: The Witness of the Saints
From a letter of Pope St. Clement to the Corinthians (A.D. 95)
Let us come to the athletes who are closest to our own time. Consider the noble examples of our own generation. Through jealousy and envy the greatest and most righteous pillars were persecuted, and they persevered even to death. Let us set before our eyes the good Apostles: Peter, who through unwarranted jealous suffered not one or two but many toils, and having thus given testimony went to the place of glory that was his due. Through jealous and strife Paul showed the way to the prize for endurance. Seven times he was in chains, he was exiled, he was stoned; he became a herald in the East and in the West, and he won splendid renown through his faith. He taught righteousness to all the world, and after reaching the boundaries of the West and giving his testimony before the rulers he passed from this world and was taken up to the holy place. Thus he became our greatest example of perseverance.
I was born and raised a Catholic, and though I considered leaving the Church for a non-denominational community when I was 20, I didn’t. This means that for most of my life the saints have been part of my religious culture . . . yet, it never dawned on me to actually learn about their lives in order to imitate them.
Until recently, my own understanding of the saints that some were better at helping us than others. Lost something? Pray to St. Anthony. Are you in an impossible situation? Pray to St. Jude. Want a confirmation that your prayer is answered? Ask St. Therese the Little Flower. In other words, for almost all of my life I had a very childish view of the saints. I fear I am not alone in this.
The beauty of this passage of Pope St. Clement is that he holds up the saints not primarily as heavenly helpers, but, rather, as icons of hope. Look at the hardships of Sts. Peter and Paul, Clement tells us, and then remember that both entered their eternal reward. He invites us to remember this life on earth is followed by a greater, more glorious life, in heaven with God.
But in order to reach heaven, we must suffer the consequences of witnessing to Christ here on earth. In the Eighth Beatitude, Jesus tells us: “Happy are those who are persecuted in the cause of right: theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Happy are you when people abuse you and persecute you and speak all kinds of calumny against you on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven; this is how they persecuted the prophets before you” (Mt 5.10-12). This doesn’t mean that we go out seeking persecution; rather, it means that persecution should both be expected and — indeed — welcomed.
It should be noted that the Greek word for “witness” is martures, which is where we get the word “martyr” from. Anyone who witnesses to Christ in word and deed should expect to be a martyr for Christ. Mostly likely this martyrdom won’t be a physical one, but if we stand with Christ and for Christ we will certainly live a martyr’s life insofar as we are abused, misunderstood, slandered, rejected, and persecuted. This is the natural and ordinary consequence of living an authentic Christian life.
Because persecution will come, this passage from Clement is important for us. By holding up the lives of Sts. Peter and Paul, he is giving us an example of heroic Christian witness. Peter and Paul suffered all kinds of martyrdoms throughout their lives, and in the end they suffered physical martyrdom. But all that they suffered does not compare to the glory that was their due — a fact we should remember whenever we are invited to experience the Eighth Beatitude in our own lives.
