The First Christian Martyrs

rosary meditations app, July 7th at 6.30 p.m. Central time. Dr. Hinkle will answer your questions regarding how to do an examination of conscience and how to make it a daily habit.

“All you have to do is just log into the app. This Tuesday, July 7th at 6.30”

and bring your questions. Let's begin in the name of the Father in the Son in the Holy Spirit. Amen. Let's call to mind all those we've promised to pray for. I believe in God the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ is only Son our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate. It was crucified died and was buried. He descended into hell.

On the third day, he rose again. He ascended into heaven and he seated at the right hand of the

Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins,

“the resurrection of the body and life of everlasting amen. Our Father who art in heaven,”

hollow would be your name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Your vests stay our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with the blessed art thou among women, blessed, these are fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us in our ensnown

at the hour of our death, amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with the blessed art thou among women, blessed, these are fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us in our ensnown at the hour of our death, amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with the

“blessed art thou among women, blessed, these are fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God,”

pray for us in our ensnown at the hour of our death, amen. Glory be to the Father and to the Son,

and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, as now never shall be, world without end, amen.

Our first mystery. Today, June 30th, we celebrate the early martyrs of the Catholic Church. I have in front of me something very striking, a copy of the letter sent from the Christians of Lyon France to the Christians in Turkey and Rome dated 177 AD, and it describes the brutal persecution of Christians in Gaul, modern day France, under the Emperor Marcus Aurelius. It recounts how at first Christians were slandered falsely, accused of terrible crimes,

and then canceled by the culture and banned from the marketplace, then mobs began to attack them.

Anyone accused of being a Christian was arrested, imprisoned, and finally taken to the amphitheater

and asked, "Are you a Christian?" If you said yes, you would be brutally tortured and killed. The Christians refused to deny their faith instead they gave witness, and that's exactly what it means to be a martyr. Their bishop, Pulton, it is early 90s, was dragged through the streets, beaten mercilessly by the crowd and thrown into prison, where he died two days later of suffocation. 47 others, men, women, and even children were tortured in public and put to death.

But what astonished the crowd was not just the suffering but the way they suffered, calmly, joyfully, without hatred, but especially with courage, forgiveness, and love. Our father, who art in heaven, hollowed beer name, that kingdom come by will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us a daily bread and free of us our trespasses, as we free of those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil amen.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with the blessed, artile, among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in our ensnown at the hour of our death, amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with the blessed, artile, among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in our ensnown at the hour of our death, amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with the blessed, artile, among women, blessed is a fruit of

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with the blessed, artile, among women, blessed is a fruit of

“thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in our ensnown at the hour of our death, amen.”

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with the blessed, artile, among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in our ensnown at the hour of our death, amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with the blessed, artile, among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in our ensnown at the hour of our death, amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with the blessed, artile, among women, blessed is a fruit of

thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in our ensnown at the hour of our death, amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with the blessed, artile, among women, blessed is a fruit of

thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in our ensnown at the hour of our death, amen.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with the blessed, artile, among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in our ensnown at the hour of our death, amen.

“Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with the blessed, artile, among women, blessed is a fruit of”

thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in our ensnown at the hour of our death, amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with us in our ensnown at the hour of our death, amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with us in our ensnown at the hour of our death, amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with us in our ensnown at the hour of our death, amen.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with us in our ensnown at the hour of our death, amen.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with us in our ensnown at the hour of our death, amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with us in our ensnown at the hour of our death, amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with us in our ensnown at the hour of our death, amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with us in our ensnown at the hour of our death, amen.

“Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with us in our ensnown at the hour of our death, amen.”

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with us in our ensnown at the hour of our death, amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with us in our ensnown at the hour of our death, amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with us in our ensnown at the hour of our death, amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with us in our ensnown at the hour of our death, amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with us in our ensnown at the hour of our death, amen.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with us in our ensnown at the hour of our death, amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with us in our ensnown at the hour of our death, amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with us in our ensnown at the hour of our death, amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with us in our ensnown at the hour of our death, amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with us in our ensnown at the hour of our death, amen.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with us in our ensnown at the hour of our death, amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with us in our ensnown at the hour of our death, amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with us in our ensnown at the hour of our death, amen. A model of the supernatural gift of fortitude, God's divine strength, made perfect in human weakness. Our Father who art in heaven, hollowed be your name,

thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Your vests are daily bread and your vests are trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with the blessed art thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in our ensnown at the hour of our death, amen.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with the blessed art thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in our ensnown at the hour of our death, amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with the blessed art thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in our ensnown at the hour of our death, amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with the blessed art thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in our ensnown at the hour of our death, amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with the blessed art thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in our ensnown at the hour of our death, amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with the blessed art thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in our ensnown at the hour of our death, amen.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with the blessed art thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with the blessed art thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

“Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in our ensnown at the hour of our death, amen.”

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with the blessed art thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in our ensnown at the hour of our death, amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with the blessed art thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us in our ensnown at the hour of our death, amen.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, as now never shall be

world without end amen. Oh, my Jesus, forgive us, our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to have an especially those most in need of thy mercy. Our third mystery, the martyrs exhibited the virtue of courage. According to St. Thomas Aquinas, the virtue of courage

“has two essential actions. The first is attack. That means an act of courage that prompts us”

to confront evil, especially the evil within ourselves. This is what Jesus shows when he cleanses the temple with a whip, or when a Christian boldly speaks the truth in a hostile world.

The first act of courage is to face evil and take action where we have responsibility.

But the second and more difficult action of fortitude is endurance. When evil cannot be conquered by action, when suffering cannot be removed, then courage takes the form of patient endurance. And this is what the martyrs did in the arena. This is what Blandine did on the stake. They held fast to the good, to Christ, in the face of evil that could not be stopped. Many of us want to be brave by fixing problems. But real courage often shows itself

“when we can't fix anything, and we have to remain faithful anyway.”

Our father who art in heaven, hollowed be your name,

that kingdom come by will be done in earth as it is in heaven. Your vests are daily breading for your vests are trespasses. As we free of those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil I meant. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art all among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us in our ensnown at the hour of our

death, amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art all among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us in our ensnown at the hour of our death, amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art all among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us in our ensnown at the hour of our death, amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art all

among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us in our ensnown at the hour of our death, amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art all among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us in our ensnown at the hour of our death, amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art all among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us in our

ensnown at the hour of our death, amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art all among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us in our ensnown at the hour of our death, amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art all among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us in our ensnown at the hour of our death, amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee,

blessed art all among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us in our ensnown at the hour of our death, amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art all among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us in our ensnown at the hour of our death, amen. Glory be to the Father and to the

end amen. Oh, my Jesus, forgive us our sins, say us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to have an

especially those most in need of thy mercy. Our fourth mystery, what about you? Where in your life is there something broken or unjust? Something you didn't choose that you don't like, that you cannot change. Maybe it's a chronic illness, maybe it's a difficult marriage, a deep loss, or a past failure. Maybe it's some addiction, your son or daughter can't overcome, and it's wrecking their life, or maybe it's a sin you've battled for years, or it could just be that you're worn down by the world.

“When you're at the end of your rope and feel like you can't endure another step, remember,”

God has not left you alone to do this by yourself. He is with you, He is in you,

and I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. And He's given you seven supernatural gifts, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, one of those is called fortitude. It is a divine strength, the power to bear great suffering cheerfully and not give up. Now you might be thinking, okay, I'm in the state of grace, so I must have this gift, but it's not working. Nothing is wrong, this gift, like all the gifts of the Spirit, is activated by cooperation.

So how do we do that? Thomas Aquinas gives us the answer. Receive the Eucharist often,

“meditate daily, and then practice the virtue of fortitude. That means keep carrying your cross,”

whatever it is, moment by moment. Don't give up and you can do it. How do I know? Because you just did. There, you did it again. One moment at a time, you are enduring. Just stay in the present moment, not the past, not the future, just this moment. You may not be facing lions, but your daily crosses are your arena of courage. This is your chance to say with your life, I am a Christian. I will not give up. Our father, who art in heaven,

hollowed be your name, that kingdom come thy will be down on earth as it is in heaven. Give us a dear, dear bread and give us our trespasses, as we give those who trespass against us,

“and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil amen. Hail Mary full of grace. The Lord is”

with the blessed art thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us and earth is now in the hour of our death, amen. Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with the blessed art thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us and earth is now in the hour of our death, amen. Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with the blessed art thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God,

pray for us and earth is now in the hour of our death, amen. Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with the blessed art thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us and earth is now in the hour of our death, amen. Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with the blessed art thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us and earth is now in the hour of our death, amen. Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with

the blessed art thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us and earth is now in the hour of our death, amen. Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with the blessed art thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us and earth is now in the hour of our death, amen. Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with the blessed art thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God,

pray for us and earth is now in the hour of our death, amen. Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with

pray for us and earth is now in the hour of our death, amen. Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with

“the blessed art thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God,”

pray for us and earth is now in the hour of our death, amen. Glory be to the Father and to the Son,

and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, as now in the first shall be,

world without end, amen. Oh, my Jesus. Forgive us, our sins, save us from the fires of hell. Lead all souls to have an especially those most in need of thy mercy. Our fifth mystery. Certainly it would have been normal for the martyrs to ask, why is God doing this? Why does he let us suffer? The same John of the Cross teaches that God longs to flood our souls with His divine life, a life that will make us perfectly happy. But for this to happen, we must make room.

“John writes, "The immense blessings of God can only enter and fit into an empty and solitary heart."”

This is why God allows us to experience suffering, failure, and painful trials we can't fix,

to make room in our souls, to be filled by Him. Difficult and painful moments beyond our control, especially those times that completely be willed to us and strip us of our pride, of our illusion of control, and they empty us of created things so that we can be filled with God. So when we are humbled, helpless, and brought to the end of our rope, we learn to depend completely on God. And this surrender, though painful, is the very condition for union with Him.

We just need to stop clinging to what cannot satisfy and open ourselves to the only one who can.

“In the silence of suffering, faith grows, in the darkness of what we can't understand,”

love is purified. God is not far off in these moments. He is near than ever,

quietly preparing the soul for transforming union, where He alone will be all your delight. So hang tough, live in the moment, and God will fight for you. Our Father who art in heaven, hell it would be your name. I kingdom come, I will be down on earth as it is in heaven. Give us a stay or a daily bread and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us

from evil amen. Hail Mary full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed, our Thalmung, women blessed is a fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother God, pray for us and earns now in the hour of our death amen. Hail Mary full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed, our Thalmung, women blessed is a fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother God, pray for us and earns now in the hour of our death amen.

Hail Mary full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed, our Thalmung, women blessed is a fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother God, pray for us and earns now in the hour of our death amen. Hail Mary full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed, our Thalmung, women blessed is a fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother God, pray for us and earns now in the hour of our death amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with

thee, blessed, our Thalmung, women blessed is a fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother God, pray for us and earns now in the hour of our death amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed, our Thalmung, women blessed is a fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother God, pray for us and earns now in the hour of our death amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed, our Thalmung, women blessed is a fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother God,

pray for us and earns now in the hour of our death amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed, our Thalmung, women blessed is a fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother God, pray for us and earns now in the hour of our death amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed, our Thalmung, women blessed is a fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary,

the Lord is with thee, blessed, our Thalmung, women blessed is a fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother God, pray for us and earns now in the hour of our death amen. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, as now,

never shall be, world without end amen. Oh, my Jesus. For your vests are sins,

save us from the fires of how lead all souls to have an especially those most in need of mercy. St. Michael, the archangel, defend us in battle, be our protection against the wickedness. There is the devil. May God review him, we humbly pray, and do that, oh Prince of the Heavenly host, by the power God cast into hell, Satan and all the evil spirits who prowled throughout the world seeking the wounded souls in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

It's pretty incredible, wasn't it, Trisa, that we were in the prison where Bishop, Pothin and the other martyrs were kept, and then we were in the amphitheater, where we're overlooking the amphitheater. Yeah, we're blending, which is it's surreal to be walking around a modern city in France, and then suddenly you come across these ancient ruins just overrun by the grass and the moss and the dirt, and you can still see so clearly exactly as it was.

They're a place of martyrdom. Yeah. Right there in the heart of the city.

So what did this reflection on courage leave you with? For one thing, I'm always very encouraged

by Saint-Lendine because it's so encouraging that she was physically one of the weakest of them, and they were all worried that she was so weak that she would crumble, but it's not about your strength. Yes. It's not about your strength, and she she just made her decision and committed to that,

“but I think it's also encouraging to read the lives of really great martyrs and their sacrifice,”

because it's not like they went out looking for it. That's not how martyrdom works, but they accepted what came to them, and it definitely reminds me how often we have little

chances for social martyrdom, or even just the risk of putting ourselves out there, or saying,

I'm a Christian, or hiding that were Christians, and we certainly don't have to fear Roman torture. But to pray for their courage in all the small moments, because it's not as if we don't have opportunities, and as if we're not afraid of saying, I'm a Christian, and there's we do not all of a specific line. We do know evil. We do know evil, because these are the assumptions at the time they were being accused of, wasn't it cannibalism? All kinds of things, yeah.

“I think the two most important, applicable points, the points of relevance for us are that”

one, let's try to be faithful in little things, like don't lie, no gossip, don't watch bad images. Even to say in all those moments, I'm a Christian. Exactly. Be faithful in the little things. Secondly, whatever suffering you're going through, live in the present moment, because when you think about the future, it is overwhelming. Could you imagine being the martyrs in that prison, imagining the torture they're about to go through versus the miracles of how long

Lindy and survived and all of these things? Because you don't know what Christ is going to bring about in that moment. You don't know how bad or how easy it could be depending on his

“graces, but I think again and again and again, back to that conversation we had with John,”

our friend with leukemia, to talk about God made you strong enough. Yes. And to really trust him, because we don't believe in our own strength, but that he will give us enough and he will take care of us no matter what it is. He took care of Lindyne. Yeah. Yeah. So live in the present moment, not in the future. Just live in the present moment. Be faithful in little things and live in the present moment. That's our resolution for today.

Well, thanks for the conversation. Thank you. Let's be apostles of friendship, good