Wednesday
of Week 34 in Ordinary Time
Feast
of Blessed Miguel Pro, Martyr (among others;)
I
am feeling the weight of a noisy world.
Maybe quiet will make a comeback?
Today
is the Feast Day of Blessed Miguel Pro
(1891-1927). Miguel grew up in
Zacatecas, Mexico. His family worked in
the mines there. After joining the
Jesuits he was forced to leave Mexico under the religious persecution stemming
from the 1917 constitution…which effectively outlawed the Church. When Miguel
returned in 1926 because of his poor health most churches were closed and many
priests had been killed. The church operated
underground at great risk. He was
falsely accused of an assassination attempt on the ex-president and executed
without trial.
The
story then takes on its own life. The
government, hoping to intimidate stubborn Catholic agitators, spread photos of the
execution. They quickly became Holy
Cards and had an emboldening effect. In
a quick reversal it then became a crime to have possession of the
government-sponsored photos.
A
quiet life of deep faithfulness became a loud…but not noisy…life of witness.
Loud
but not noisy.
Born
in quiet and reflection.
Sounds
like a kind of vaccine.
“Viva
Christo Rey” Miguel Pro’s
last words before the firing squad
No comments:
Post a Comment