Hacked To Death by Chinese Boxers

St. Gregory Grassi and Companions (d. 1900)

Christian missionaries have often gotten caught in the crossfire of wars against their own countries. When the governments of Britain, Germany, Russia and France forced substantial territorial concessions from the Chinese in 1898, anti-foreign sentiment grew very strong among many Chinese people.

Gregory Grassi was born in Italy in 1833, ordained in 1856 and sent to China five years later. Gregory was later ordained Bishop of North Shanxi. With 14 other European missionaries and 14 Chinese religious, he was martyred during the short but bloody Boxer Uprising of 1900.

Twenty-six of these martyrs were arrested on the orders of Yu Hsien, the governor of Shanxi province. They were hacked to death on July 9, 1900. Five of them were Friars Minor; seven were Franciscan Missionaries of Mary — the first martyrs of their congregation. Seven were Chinese seminarians and Secular Franciscans; four martyrs were Chinese laymen and Secular Franciscans. The other three Chinese laymen killed in Shanxi simply worked for the Franciscans and were rounded up with all the others. Three Italian Franciscans were martyred that same week in the province of Hunan. All these martyrs were beatified in 1946 and were among the 120 martyrs canonized in 2000.

Martyrdom is the occupational hazard of missionaries. Throughout China during the Boxer Uprising, five bishops, 50 priests, two brothers, 15 sisters and 40,000 Chinese Christians were killed. The 146,575 Catholics served by the Franciscans in China in 1906 had grown to 303,760 by 1924 and were served by 282 Franciscans and 174 local priests.

Great sacrifices often bring great results.

Webinar: How To Talk To Protestants

I attended Dr. Taylor Marshall’s webinar last night on “How to talk to Protestants and Non-practicing Catholics.”   He was shocked that over 700 people joined the one-hour live webinar.   

Opening Poll Question:   Your friends think of you as:

-          A crazy religious zealot

-          A mean and intolerant Catholic

-          A hypocrite

-          A source for religious information and guidance

Why should you bother trying to explain Catholicism to your family and friends?

-          For the sake of their salvation so they don’t end up in hell or spend a long time in purgatory isolated from their loved ones who are already in heaven.

-          We gain graces for helping others to find the Way, the Truth, and the Light.

-          We love our family and friends and don’t want them to miss out in the next life.

What are 3 positive ways to start conversations about religion and about Catholicism?

-          Ask the person about their worldview, why we are here on earth, what happens after we die, and about their religious beliefs

-          Move laterally – ask them next if they have a relationship with Jesus and how intimate it is now and how they keep that relationship growing

-          Drop silent bombs – don’t be confrontational – send them e-books that you have read and recommend, send them Google articles/links that you find interesting,

-          (Never ask a Protestant what religion they are.   They will be insulted and will  say “Christian” and wonder why you think they are Buddhist or Jewish or Muslim.   Instead, ask them what denomination or “faith tradition” they follow.)

What are 3 things we must know when sharing our faith?

-          Know about scripture.   Read it daily (Magnificat comes in handy).   Read books (Pope Benedict’s books are of great help explaining scripture.)

-          Know about the various Protestant religions and how they differ from Catholicism.   Use Dr. Marshall’s handy Apologetics Bible Sheet (6 pages) to explain the differences so you don’t get in heated arguments and debates.    Let the Bible Sheet show what we believe based on the referenced lines of scripture and leave it at that.

-          Know Catholic Theology, History, Devotions, and Customs.    Read books and web sites that are rich sources of this information that can be shared.

Homework Assignment:

Study Theology – Aquinas in 50 pages (free from Dr. Marshall), Augustine’s Confessions, Pope Benedict’s books, podcasts

Study History – Lives of the Saints, Saint of the Day,

Study Devotions – Rosary, Sacred Heart, Divine Mercy

Study Customs – Feast Days, Novenas, Sacramentals such as Miraculous Medal and scapulars

Show Peace by example – Who needs yoga or mental therapy when you can go to chapel and meditate before the Blessed Eucharist?

Show Wisdom by example – Talk about the pilgrimage you went on, the beautiful church you visited, the book you just read, the Catholic movie you just saw, the saint you just read about.

Show Joy by example – The joy of talking to Jesus daily in prayer and the daily scripture readings (Magnificat), , the joy of being freed from sin in Confession, the joy of being part of the only religion where our priests bring Jesus directly to us in Holy Communion, the joy of our pope greeting the sick, the joy of our nuns/monks helping the poor, the joy of our parish doing good things for others, they joy of seeing our babies being baptized and youngsters receiving First Holy Communion,  the joy of being able to directly receive Jesus every day in Holy Communion – you can’t have a more intimate relationship with God than that!  

Radical Old Geezers

From Father Z’s blog . . .

Apparently the progressive Association of American Priests., average age 69, and the so-called Catholic Church Reform International (like the Council of Elders?), ”are taking the pope seriously.”

To wit:

They are asking the Vatican Synod on the Family to do four things:

1. To bless those who choose to live together in preparation for marriage [read: shack up] as well as those who form new relationships after a marriage breaks down. [read: commit adultery]

2. To say that Humanae Vitae was a mistake. [And we should force people to pay for other people's contraception too!] They want the church to emphasize the joyfulness of marriage [and shacking up and adultery] rather than finding new things to condemn. [More sex with everyone!  With everything!] They’re looking, they say, for the church to advise couples on the values and practices that genuinely promote openness to life. They want more from the church, it seems, than just another list of sins. [No, they want the Church to abandon the very notion of sin.  They should become Anglicans.  They have a rite of baptism that doesn't mention the Devil.]

3. To treat all people with the same respect regardless of their sexual orientation andrefrain from making gender a definition of the roles and tasks of either church or society. [Why limit yourself to gender?  Abolish species-ism!]

4. To proclaim the truth that the church is expressed through the sensus fidelium, through “priests, religious, and the people learning and teaching together.”[Bishops, let out?]

[...]

This is clearly a body in motion.

You can hear them coming as the canes clack down the hallway.

Their battle cry?  ”Yesterday’s blunders, tomorrow!”

Pope Francis would approve of those bullet points?   I think not.

I’ll go take my 50+ vitamin now.

Music Video of the Day

Today’s video with beautiful scenery and music . . .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlD3Gaq4cN0

To The Heights - Pier Giorgio

Do yourself a favor and read more about his life here and learn more reasons why we love him by watching this video; but for our purposes here, suffice it to say that he was a man who lived his life to the full.  

His life was one of Christ-centered adventure.  He coined the phrase, “to the heights” (“verso l’alto” in Italian), when he scribbled it on a picture of himself climbing a mountain.  It has now become his mantra.  

Pier Giorgio was a man who sought the heights in everything he did, in everything and everyone he encountered.  He spent his whole life reaching for the heights of his potential, the heights of service, the heights of love, the heights of holiness.

http://totheheights.com/944/frassati/

http://www.oratoriocampofiorenzo.it/pierg/pgmenu.html

Happy St.Thomas Day - No Doubt About It!

July 3 - St. Thomas the Apostle 

Poor Thomas! He made one remark and has been branded as “Doubting Thomas” ever since. But if he doubted, he also believed. He made what is certainly the most explicit statement of faith in the New Testament: “My Lord and My God!” (see John 20:24-28) and, in so expressing his faith, gave Christians a prayer that will be said till the end of time. He also occasioned a compliment from Jesus to all later Christians: “Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed” (John 20:29).

Thomas should be equally well known for his courage. Perhaps what he said was impetuous—since he ran, like the rest, at the showdown—but he can scarcely have been insincere when he expressed his willingness to die with Jesus. The occasion was when Jesus proposed to go to Bethany after Lazarus had died. Since Bethany was near Jerusalem, this meant walking into the very midst of his enemies and to almost certain death. Realizing this, Thomas said to the other apostles, “Let us also go to die with him” (John 11:16b).

COMMENT:
Thomas shares the lot of Peter the impetuous, James and John, the “sons of thunder,” Philip and his foolish request to see the Father—indeed all the apostles in their weakness and lack of understanding. We must not exaggerate these facts, however, for Christ did not pick worthless men. But their human weakness again points up the fact that holiness is a gift of God, not a human creation; it is given to ordinary men and women with weaknesses; it is God who gradually transforms the weaknesses into the image of Christ, the courageous, trusting and loving one.

El Camino Real - Junipero Serra

I still need to visit all of his missions in California . . .

July 1:   Blessed Junipero Serra (1713-1784)

In 1776, when the American Revolution was beginning in the east, another part of the future United States was being born in California. That year a gray-robed Franciscan founded Mission San Juan Capistrano, now famous for its annually returning swallows. San Juan was the seventh of nine missions established under the direction of this indomitable Spaniard.

Born on Spain’s island of Mallorca, Serra entered the Franciscan Order, taking the name of St. Francis’ childlike companion, Brother Juniper. Until he was 35, he spent most of his time in the classroom—first as a student of theology and then as a professor. He also became famous for his preaching. Suddenly he gave it all up and followed the yearning that had begun years before when he heard about the missionary work of St. Francis Solanus in South America. Junipero’s desire was to convert native peoples in the New World.

Arriving by ship at Vera Cruz, Mexico, he and a companion walked the 250 miles to Mexico City. On the way Junipero’s left leg became infected by an insect bite and would remain a cross—sometimes life-threatening—for the rest of his life. For 18 years he worked in central Mexico and in the Baja Peninsula. He became president of the missions there.

Enter politics: the threat of a Russian invasion south from Alaska. Charles III of Spain ordered an expedition to beat Russia to the territory. So the last twoconquistadors—one military, one spiritual—began their quest. José de Galvez persuaded Junipero to set out with him for present-day Monterey, California. The first mission founded after the 900-mile journey north was San Diego (1769). That year a shortage of food almost canceled the expedition. Vowing to stay with the local people, Junipero and another friar began a novena in preparation for St. Joseph’s day, March 19, the scheduled day of departure. On that day, the relief ship arrived.

Other missions followed: Monterey/Carmel (1770); San Antonio and San Gabriel (1771); San Luís Obispo (1772); San Francisco and San Juan Capistrano (1776); Santa Clara (1777); San Buenaventura (1782). Twelve more were founded after Serra’s death.

Junipero made the long trip to Mexico City to settle great differences with the military commander. He arrived at the point of death. The outcome was substantially what Junipero sought: the famous “Regulation” protecting the Indians and the missions. It was the basis for the first significant legislation in California, a “Bill of Rights” for Native Americans.

Because the Native Americans were living a nonhuman life from the Spanish point of view, the friars were made their legal guardians. The Native Americans were kept at the mission after Baptism lest they be corrupted in their former haunts—a move that has brought cries of “injustice” from some moderns.

Junipero’s missionary life was a long battle with cold and hunger, with unsympathetic military commanders and even with danger of death from non-Christian native peoples. Through it all his unquenchable zeal was fed by prayer each night, often from midnight till dawn. He baptized over 6,000 people and confirmed 5,000. His travels would have circled the globe. He brought the Native Americans not only the gift of faith but also a decent standard of living. He won their love, as witnessed especially by their grief at his death. He is buried at Mission San Carlo Borromeo, Carmel, and was beatified in 1988.