Today's Minute Meditations addresses St. Francis' deep understanding of God. 🙌
July 9, 2024
Hello John,
The story of Christianity in China is marked by periods of both resilience and adversity, as the faith has endured various challenges over the centuries. Among the countless individuals who stood firm in their beliefs, Augustine Zhao Rong's journey stands out as a testament to unwavering devotion and courage. From his origins as a Chinese soldier to his eventual ordination as a diocesan priest, Augustine's life exemplified extraordinary faith and resilience in the face of persecution.
His story, along with those of the 120 martyrs who were canonized together in Rome on October 1, 2000, reminds us of the power of faith and the sacrifices made for it.
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Christianity arrived in China by way of Syria in the 600s. Depending on China’s relations with the outside world, Christianity over the centuries was free to grow or was forced to operate secretly.
The 120 martyrs in this group died between 1648 and 1930. Eighty-seven of them were born in China, and were children, parents, catechists, or laborers, ranging in age from nine years to 72. This group includes four Chinese diocesan priests. The 33 foreign-born martyrs were mostly priests or women religious, especially from the Order of Preachers, the Paris Foreign Mission Society, the Friars Minor, Society of Jesus, Society of St. Francis de Sales (Salesians), and Franciscan Missionaries of Mary.
Augustine Zhao Rong was a Chinese soldier who accompanied Bishop John Gabriel Taurin Dufresse of the Paris Foreign Mission Society to his martyrdom in Beijing. Not long after his baptism, Augustine was ordained as a diocesan priest. He was martyred in 1815.
Beatified in groups at various times, these 120 martyrs were canonized together in Rome on October 1, 2000.
Reflection
The People’s Republic of China and the Roman Catholic Church each have well over a billion members, but there are only about 12 million Catholics in China. The reasons for that are better explained by historical conflicts than by a wholesale rejection of the Good News of Jesus Christ. The Chinese-born martyrs honored by today’s feast were regarded by their persecutors as dangerous because they were considered allies of enemy, Catholic countries. The martyrs born outside China often tried to distance themselves from European political struggles relating to China, but their persecutors saw them as Westerners and therefore, by definition, anti-Chinese.
The Good News of Jesus Christ is intended to benefit all peoples; today’s martyrs knew that. May 21st-century Christians live in such a way that Chinese women and men will be attracted to hear that Good News and embrace it.
Francis had insight into this mystery of God. Maybe because of his own experience of God in the church of San Damiano or maybe because of God’s touch in his own life, Francis understood that God comes to us in a particular way, in the poverty and humility of Jesus Christ. His love of the poor is no secret to history.
Maybe because Francis was not an intellectual he could perceive the mystery of God in its pristine beauty—the extraordinary divine in the ordinary human. Too often we are wrapped up in lofty, intellectual speculations about God. We write books and also use abstract language and complex philosophical terms to describe God. In the meantime, God is present to us not only in the mundane but also in the poverty and humility of ordinary life. We do not usually gravitate to the poor and humble and therefore our heads are often in the clouds wondering whether or not God exists. If we truly recognized God in poor and humble fragile human flesh, we probably could not bear the weight of the mystery. We would find it overwhelming precisely because of its simplicity.
Social activist and mystic Dorothy Day said, “I speak to people as if they are angels.” Day saw the holiness in everyone she met, especially those whom society views as nobodies as a result of their poverty and homelessness. Day knew that she was entertaining angels unaware and that she needed to treat each person as if God’s light shines within them. Then they would know not only that their physical needs were met but more importantly they would know that they were loved.
Pray
God of ordinary miracles, Your angels are everywhere. Delivering the mail, taking children or grandchildren to school, Driving ambulances and buses, playing in my backyard, Houseless on the streets, and sitting in meditation. There are angels and messengers of God everywhere, Help me see the angelic in those around me and see the angelic in myself, And let it come forth in joy and service. Amen.
Act
Today, I look for the angels hiding all around me. I look for God’s messengers and messages in ordinary people. I speak with respect to everyone with whom I interact. Even if I need to assert myself in a personal or business matter, I speak the truth with love, seeking reconciliation rather than alienation. I give thanks for the many opportunities to share God’s love today.
Today's Pause+Pray was written by Bruce Epperly. Learn more here!
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