these are some impressions and cliff notes.

THE COMING CHRISTIAN PERSECUTION

Thomas D. Williams

Crisis Publications

2017

recommended book by this author who purchased and make a book report set of notes.

[current situ]

13 = “Those who undergo persecution are not numbers but real individuals of flesh and blood, each with his or her own name, background, and history.”

“Sadly, the vast majority of people, Christians included, have little understanding of the seriousness, magnitude, and acceleration of the problem in today's world.”

Blessedly, “[g]roups such as [these] provide invaluable research:

Aid to the Church in Need [ACN]

Open Doors [OD]

the Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christian in Europe

the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom

International Christian Concern

L’Observatoire de la Christianophobie

Voice of the Martyrs

Christian Solidarity Worldwide

Release International

61 = “Christian persecution is growing worse, not better,. . “

17 = “ ‘Approximately ⅓ of the world's population faces some form of religious persecution, . . .’ – Tristan Azbej of Hungary, 2020”

15 = “Christians are the victims of at least 75% of all religiously motivated violence and oppression in the world.” ACN

7 = “ ‘Not only are Christians more persecuted than any other faith group, but ever-increasing numbers are experiencing the worst forms of persecution.’ “ – ACN, 2017

“Every single day around the world, some 13 Christians are killed for their faith, 12 are illegally arrested, or imprisoned, 5 are abducted, and 12 churches or other Christian buildings are attacked.” – Open Doors’ World Watch List (WWL)

16 = “Christians experience concentrated harassment in the Middle East-North Africa region.” – Pew

135 = “In 8 of the top 10 nations for Christin persecution, the majority religion is Islam, a telling fact.”

18-61 = worst offenders:

North Korea (“Remarkably, in spite of terrifying persecution, the Christian population in North Korea is growing.”)

Afghanistan (“ ‘. . . there is no safe way to express any form of Christian faith in the country.’ “ [OD]

Iraq (“ ‘In 2019, Chaldean Archbishop Warda . . . offered a grim prediction . . . [of] the extinction of Christians . . . in the Middle East.’ “)

Syria (“Aleppo’s Bishop Audo: ‘You cannot imagine the dangers we face every day.’ “)

Nigeria (“ ‘More Christians are murdered for their faith in Nigeria than in any other country.’ “ [OD’s WWL 2021]

India (attacks occur “with impunity”) (144 = Christians are 2%, but 14% of attacks)

China (“Despite severe repression, Christianity is flourishing in China, . . . “)

Pakistan (including “ ‘forced conversions to Islam’ “)

135 = “. . . there are 9 primary “drivers” of persecution:

Radical Islam

Communist and post-communist oppression

Religious nationalism

Ethnic antagonism

Tribal oppression

Denominational protectionism

Secular intolerance

Dictatorial paranoia

Organized crime” – [OD’s WWL]

137 = “Islamism has sought the eradication of Christians from certain geographical areas, . . .”

140 = “ ‘. . . those involved in jihad are the only ones who are really practicing what the Qur’an says.’ “ – Sam Rohrer

147-148 = “. . . totalitarian means: the state is everything. . . . one political party, one educational system, one . . . creed, one centrally planned economy, one unified media, and one moral code.’ “ – Ta-Nehisi Coates

151-152 = “. . . higher education has become an idol.”

“. . . the idea that Christianity and science are inherently hostile to one another is a decidedly modern notion, . . .”

“The weapon of choice . . . is . . . ridicule and belittlement of religious belief. . . “

153-160 = “Satan . . . is . . . active in anti-Christian religious extremism, in totalitarianism and atheistic political regimes, in the academy with its hubris and anti-Christian prejudices, and in aggressive secularism and worldly vice that sees Chrisitianity as the enemy of its license and perversions, . . . abortion, . . . gender ideology, . . . same-sex marriage, . . . and attacks on the family.”

169-170 = “ ‘Today Christian are murdered, tortured, imprisoned, and slaughtered, because they refuse to deny Jesus Christ. . . . Christians . . . suffer today – whether it be in prison or by death or torture – for refusing to deny Jesus Christ. . . . gave [their] life so as not to deny Jesus.’ “ – Fr. Hamel

177-178 = “ . . . there has arisen . . . a radical secularism that goes beyond a healthy separation of church and state . . . . This has become ‘a sort of religion of its own, one that takes the form of a hyper-aggressive, anti-Christian kind of secularism . . . [and it] has all the marks of a religion: infallible dogmas, rituals, saints, creedal statements and condemnation of heretical teachings along with punishment of the heretics who hold them and dare to speak them in pubic, index of forbidden books, even sacraments [e.g., sex, abortion, drugs, etc.].’ “ – Archbishop Cordileone

204 = “. . . ignorance [and] . . . denial . . . . . . the mistreatment of Christians receives almost no coverage from mainstream media . . . . A vicious cycle ensues in which ignorance begets inaction and indifference.”

218 = “The late Cardinal Francis George, archbishop of Chicago, had some sobering words to describe the state of Christian persecution in our day and the trend it is following: ‘I expect to die in my bed, my successor will die in prison and his successor will die a martyr in the public square. His successor will pick up the shards of a ruined society and slowly help rebuild civilization, as the Church has done so often [before].’ “

221 = “. . . as practices that Christians understand to be immoral become legal, Christians’ [refusal] to embrace the new morality looks more and more like obstinacy and bigotry rather than fidelity to Christ and His teachings.”

[historical info]

8 = “The most emblematic form is martyrdom, the suffering of death because of one’s faith in Jesus Christ. The word martyr comes directly from the Greek word for ‘witness’.”

42 = “Indian Christians trace their history back to AD 52, when the apostle Thomas . . reached their shores to evangelize . . . “ [the 2 Thomas Pole events]

62 = “. . . when Jesus Christ walked the earth, [He was h]unted as a baby, hounded during His public life, and ultimately executed in the most brutal fashion at the age of 33.”

64 = “Persecution started early for Jesus and accompanied Him . . .: lack of a place for Him in the inn . . ., [prophesied to be] ‘a sign that is spoken against’ . . ., [and] ‘Herod . . . killed all the male children under 2 in Bethlehem’, trying to kill Jesus.

72 = “In the end, the Pharisees hate Jesus for His devastating reproaches of their hypocrisy, for His apparent flouting of the externalities of the law that they love, for His alleged blasphemy, for His increasing popularity, for His willingness to fraternize with tax collectors and sinners, for creating the risk of a violent Roman reaction, and for His over-familiarity with God, whom He called ‘Father’. He is in every way a threat to their status and authority and a thorn in their side.”

81 = “The nascent Christian Church suffered bloody persecution on and off for 3 centuries, facing hostility both from the Jewish community and from the Roman Empire. Of the first 31 popes, a remarkable 28 [of them] . . . died as martyrs, and 48 of the first 50 popes [are] saints. Numerous other Chrsitians died as martyrs during the 3 centuries [before] the legalization of Christianity in AD 113 [with Emperor Constantine’s Edict of Milan].”

“This vital period in the history of the Church, known as the ‘Age of Martyrs’, offers a key point of reference for Christian persecution . . . since in it the very existence of Christianity hung in the balance and the Christian response to persecution was forged . . . It has continued as a touchstone for suffering Christians [ever since].”

82 = “The martyrdom of Christians under the Roman Empire took many gruesome forms. Christians who were Roman citizens, such as the apostle Paul, had the ‘privilege’ of being executed by beheading, which at least brought a quick end. Non-citizens were subject to prolonged ordeals, including crucifixion, being burned to death, . . . confrontation with wild animals[,etc.].”

86 = “. . . the only way for Christians to escape punishment was to deny their faith . . . [often signaled by their] offering an invocation to the Roman gods and burning incense before a statue of the emperor.”

88-107 = some key early Chrisian martyrs

Pope Clement of Rome

Ignatius of Antioch

241 = “‘I plead with you, do not do me an unseasonable kindness,’ he wrote. ‘Let me be fodder or wild beasts – that is how I can get to God.’”

Perpetua and Felicity

[when Felicity moaned in childbirth and as taunted by the guard, she] “memorably replied: ‘Now it is I who suffer what I suffer, but then there will be Another in me, Who will suffer for me, because I also am about to suffer for Him.’”

Lawrence

When the Emperor ordered him to turn over the Church's treasure, Lawrence brought out Rome’s poor, sick, and handicapped

Cyprian of Carthage

[He] “responded directly: ‘I am a Christian and a bishop. I know no other gods besides the one, true God Who made heaven and earth, the sea and all that is in them. This is the God we Christians serve, to this God we pray day and night for you and for all mankind.’”

[When the judge said,] ‘It is the sentence of this court that . . . Cyprianus be executed with the sword,’ . . . Cyprian replied, ‘Thanks be to God.’”

Cosmas and Damian

A cure was credited to them

Agnes

Flams failed to consume her

Constantina, the daughter of the emperor Constantine I, was said to have been cured of leprosy after praying at Agnes’s tomb

Cecilia

Polycarp

[When asked to deny his faith,] “Polycarp memorably answered, ‘For 86 years I have been His servant, and He has done me no wrong. How can I blaspheme against my King and Savior?’”

96 = [In t]he year 250, . . . Emperor Daecius issued an edict ordering all to sacrifice to the gods and to present a certificate proving they had done so. Bishops were put to death ; other Christians were to be punished and tortured until they recanted.

104 = “The 10 years of the Great Persecution”

105 = “According to Eusebius, there were 1000s of martyrs during this period and ‘each endured different forms of torture. The body of one was scourged with rods. Another was punished with insupportable rankings and scrapings, in which some suffered a miserable death.’”

106 = “Similarly in Egypt, Eusebius recounts, “1000s of men, women, and children, despising the present life for the sake of the teaching of our Savior, endured various deaths.’”

108 = “Diocletian dealt ruthlessly with what he considered subversive literature and made it a point to destroy not only Christian buildings but even more so, precious Christian texts and records.”

“The chief reason we possess so few original accounts of histories and martyrdoms – which were zealously chronicled and preserved by the Christian community – is that Diocletian made a concerted effort to wipe out the corpus of Christian literature. He destroyed copies of Sacred Scripture wherever he found them and [he] burned any other Christian texts he could get his hands on.”

“‘The extent of our knowledge of the persecution in the west is, of course, based upon the fortuitous [!] character of the sources that remain’ (Lorne D. Bruce). Scholars believe that Christian libraries suffered irremediable damage in 303-304, and volumes of priceless historical value were obliterated.

142 = “ . . . the 813 martyrs of Otranto, . . . slain by invading Muslims of the Ottoman Empire [o]n the southern Italian coast . . . in 1480, . . . beheaded one by one..”

“. . . the invaders presented the[m] with an ultimatum: either convert to Islam or be slain. A tailor named Antonio Primaldo stepped forward and declared: ‘Now is the time for us to fight to save our souls for the Lord. And since He died on the Cross for us, it is fitting that we should die for Him’ – a proclamation met with a loud cheer.”

171 = “. . . Western democracy rests . . . on . . . the Jewish-Christian tradition (Cardinal Ratzinger).”

176 = “St. Jerome coined the expression white martyrdom – distinguished from the “red” martyrdom of those who shed their blood for the Faith – to describe monks’ and ascetics’ practice of daily living for Christ ; the term was later used to denote those who suffer persecution (indignity, cruelty) because of their faithfulness to Christ, but not up to the point of bloodshed.”

229 – “Since the earliest centuries, the Christian Church has been proud of and grateful for her martyrs. They are ‘Heaven’s athletes’ . . . “

[crucial points]

5 = “. . . the unique status of anti-Christian hatred deserves to be examined as a phenomenon unto itself.”

61 = Anti-Christian hostility is now so widespread as to constitute a pandemic in its own right.”

21 = “Remarkably, in spite of terrifying persecution, the Christian population in North Korea is growing.”

73 = “. . . thus persecution is a mark of the true disciple’s intimate sharing in the life and mission of Jesus, just as the world’s love and acceptance is a sure sign that a would-be disciple has not attained to this union.”

74 = “Jesus . . . urges His followers to trust in the Holy Spirit for [the] wisdom to know what to say in moments of trial. Jesus proposes that rather than relying on earthly wisdom or carefully crafted argumentation, they should offer themselves as mouthpieces of God’s wisdom: ‘When they deliver you up, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say ; for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour ; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you’ {Mt 10:19-20}.”

75 = “. . . stand with Jesus no matter the cost . . .”

76 = “. . . Jesus . . . demands that a stand be taken – for Him or against Him.”

78 = “. . . Jesus adds two key points. First, He explains to them why He is warning them about coming aggression – namely, to keep them from stumbling when it arrives. Next, He explains the motivation of those who persecute Christians, to help His followers to forgive as He forgave, ‘for they know not what they do’ {Lk 23:34}.”

78 = “‘ . . . the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God.’”

80 = “All of the Apostles were put to death for the Faith (except John) . . .”

85 = “Nero’s . . . exaggeratedly severe treatment of the Christians backfired, however, as people were moved with pity on seeing them.”

109 = “. . . Galerius said that despite the harsh penalties inflicted upon them, the Christians ‘indeed persisted. . . ‘“

110 = “While the drama of the first centuries of Christianity provides countless examples of heroic witness to Jesus,this was hardly the end of . . . Christian persecution. Down through the ages, Christians have faced ongoing percussion in various forms, sometimes institutionally, often in more random fashion: the Protestant [Rebellion] ; the French Revolution ; the missionaries in Canada, Japan, Korea, and elsewhere ; the Spanish Civil War ; the [severe] totalitarian repressions of the 20th-century – all reveal an anti-Christian animus smoldering under the surface, always ready to be reignited into active persecution.”

“Why is it that > 75% of religious persecution in the world is directed toward Christians, who preach love of God and neighbor, mercy, peace, and forgiveness? What is it about Christians – [and/]or their faith – that seems to provoke such animosity?”

111 = “Christians have been a particular magnet for persecution ever since the foundation of the Church.”

“Monotheism alone . . . cannot explain the unique hostility toward the followers of Jesus. The Jews, in obedience to the 1st Commandment, declined to take part in many of the religious rituals prescribed by the Roman emperors and yet [they] were generally given a pass when it came time to enforce their civic duty. Being Jewish was not illegal in the Roman Empire, whereas being a Christian was.”

“. . . some distinctive characteristics of Christianity that . . . arouse recurring aggression[:]

Martyrdom

‘Inflexible obstinacy’

121 = “The fact is that the Roman persecution of Christianity had very precise motives. It is true that the Roman state was remarkably tolerant toward a diversity of regions, but there were 2 notable exceptions to this general indifference. The Romans did not tolerate any cult that was hostile to the state[,] or any cut that was exclusive of all others. The foundation for these exceptions was political expediency rather than dogmatic zeal, and it was on the latter issue [that] Christians ran afoul of the Roman state.”

“There was one notable exception to Roman intolerance of one-god believers, and that was the Jewish nation, whose faith was clearly exclusive. Like Christianity, Judaism does not allow for mingling in the activities of others faiths.”

“And yet the Jewish religion was not persecuted in the Roman Empire, but was rather the subject of the state's special protection. Why? There were 3 reasons for Roman indulgence of the Jews:

The venerable age of [that] faith

The identity between [their] faith and [their] nation

Judaism’s general disinterest in proselytism

. . . [and] therefore, their numbers did not notably increase.”

122 = Christianity emerged in the Roman mind as a religion unto itself. What the Romans saw were members of their own nation – rich and poor, slaves and free, soldiers and civilians, men and women, young and old – converting in droves to the new, upstart faith. This caused consternation. The new religion, exclusive in its beliefs and precluding worship of the emperor, was not only unlawful in the technical sense but was [also] a looming threat. The seeds of active persecution were sown.”

123 = “Hostility toward Christianity was not limited to the Roman Empire or the first centuries of the Christian era. It [has] continued down through the centuries and has become increasingly virulent in our time.”

124 & 125 = “[From] the Letter to Diognetus, written by an unknown author sometime between AD 130 and 200: ‘[The] Christians] dwell in their own countries, but simply as sojourners [pilgrims]. As citizens, they share in all things with others ; and yet endure all things as foreigners. Every foreign land is to them as their native country, and every land of their birth as a land of strangers.’”

“In the eyes of the author of the letter, there is a discernible detachment among Christians that keeps them from rooting so deeply in the world, and indeed in the present life, that all their hope becomes lodged in that detachment. . . . Christians ‘are in the flesh, but they do not live after [for] the flesh. They pass their days on earth, but they are citizens of heaven.’”

“‘They marry ; . . . they beget children ; but they do not destroy their offspring [the Romans practiced abortion]. They have a common table, but not a common bed. . . . And . . . while they ‘obey the prescribed laws,’ at the same time they ‘surpass the laws by their lives.’’

125 = “. . . This difference . . . is sufficient to incite . . . wrath . . . [T]he author suggests that the very goodness of the Christians may well be a source of the hatred they often received in return.”

127 & 128 = “An interesting phenomenon that has emerged in our day is the particular animosity of atheists toward Christians and Christian beliefs. Why do atheists find Christianity intolerable, while not [exhibiting] the same antipathy to[ward] Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, or Islam?”

“. . . popular literature . . focuses overwhelmingly on Christianity in its attacks on religion . . . . A target for both their proselytizing and their aggression, atheists overwhelmingly prefer Christians .”

“A curious thing about many atheists is the anger [toward] and apparent hatred of God. It is curious because one would think that ‘not believing’ in something would render that ‘nonexistent something’ uninteresting and [therefore] unworthy of attention.”

130 = “Christianity, with its refusal to deify political programs . . .”

“ . . . the deification of politics goes a long way [toward] explaining why Christians are so often ridiculed and discriminated against, particularly in the West. The pervasiveness of atheism in politically ‘woke’ Hollywood, universities, theater, media, and many other culture-molding institutions helps us understand why atheists find Christian beliefs, and Christians themselves, so intolerable.”

134 = “There is something superhuman, even demonic, about the bitterness often [exhibited] by the persecutors of Christians . Their reaction often seems completely disproportionate . . .”

There is a spiritual battle going on beyond the material . . . , in which other forces are at work. Ultimately, the causes of Christian persecution are spiritual . . . “

159 = “. . . the abortion industry views Christianity as its greatest enemy and [so] aggressively works to discredit and demonize Christians .”

167 = “‘The desecrations have an evident anti-Christian character . . . drunk with fierce hatred . . .’, wrote Juan Pedro Quinoneo. . .”

175 = “‘. . . our cherished Catholic faith has survived for 2,000 years in the face of many different oppressors, and it is not about to yield now.’” – the Archdiocese of Hartford., CT

178 = “. . . as they see it, religion, especially Christianity, only gets in the way of the society they hope to build.” (214 = “The radical Left . . . sees Christians in the West as obstacles to their agenda . . .”)

192 = “Hate-crimes legislation is not the only arrow in the quiver of those wishing to silence Christian belief. Christianity’s refusal to get with the times has generated growing animosity and even proposals to coerce Christians into ‘updating’ their moral teachings to conform to the standards of progressivism.”

“A noteworthy example was a 2015 essay . . . by Frank Bruni . . . in The New York Times suggesting that Christians must either fully embrace the gay lifestyle or be forced into doing so.”

199 = “‘Disdain for vigorous religious convictions, especially the Catholic kind, is a virus that’s going around.’” – former Philadelphia Archbishop Charles J. Chaput

201 = “. . . abortion and homosexuality . . . being in favor of these issues is not an obstacle to judicial impartiality, whereas opposition to them is.”

210 & 211 = “‘No one much cares about offending Christians ,’ wrote the Coalition of African American Pastors in . . . 2019. . . . ‘In fact mocking, belittling, and blaspheming Christianity is becoming a . . . trend in our culture. anti-Christian bigotry truly is “the last acceptable prejudice.”’”

“‘Christianity is the dominant religion of our country. It is the foundation of our government and [our] morality. And yet, we are treated as fair game for mockery and insult.’”

215 = The denominations taking the biggest hit have been mainline Protestant churches and Catholicism.”

220 = “Christians are increasingly seen as the enemies of an inevitable ‘progress’ toward a re-defining of human beings independent of their biological makeup, toward a subjective . . . identity.”

230 = “Sanguis martyrum, semen christianorum’ – [Latin for:] ‘The blood of martyrs is the seed or Christians.’”

236 = “‘The strength of martyrs . . . is Christ.’ – St. Augustine”

240 = “ . . . the real source of Christian fortitude is the grace of God Himself.”

“ . . . the saints . . . were often aware that, in themselves, they did not have the courage required to face martyrdom, but they trusted in God to give them that strength when it became necessary.”

248 – Pope “Benedict [wondered:] ‘Perhaps many people reject the Faith today simply because they do not find the prospect of eternal life attractive.’”

250 & 251 = “Thomas a Kempis [in his book, The Imitation of Christ] noted with searing acuity the tendency [of] Christians to follow Christ [only up to] accompanying Him through His Passion.”

“‘You deceive yourself, you are mistaken if you seek anything but to suffer, for this mortal life is full of miseries and marked with crosses on all sides, Indeed, the more spiritual progress a person makes, the heavier will he frequently find his cross [to be] ; because as his love increases, the pain of his exile also increases.’”

252 = “The growth of the persecuted Church lends itself to two explanations:

. . . the blessing of God upon the faithfulness of His servants ;

Evangelization is empowered by witness, and the greatest witness is martyrdom.”

Persecution, therefore, must be recognized as a means of drawing others to Christ.”

[expectation of persecution]

62 = “[Jesus] repeatedly [told] His disciples that they, too, would be ‘hated’ for following Him.”

63 = ‘the entirely expected nature of the abuse.”

63 = “. . . the ‘cross’ . . . Jesus made it quite [clear] that it would accompany all those who chose to associate themselves with Him.”

“. . . the more closely they follow Christ, the more they will experience the persecution that was the hallmark of His own life on earth.”

“. . . how often and how insistently Christ spoke about persecution. . . “

65 = “. . . Jesus casts the reaction to His mission in terms of light and darkness, truth and falsehood. It is no mere human dislike or conflict of personalities, He insists, but is rooted in people’s state of soul.’

135 = “Jesus characterizes the nature of Christian persecution as hatred of the light and aversion to the truth.”

70 = “Th[e] description of His coming Passion . . . provides a lesson for His followers: not to cling to their lives on earth but to be willing to relinquish them.”

72 = “[Jesus] reveals the most explicit motivation for the hatred directed at Him: it is, in fact, hatred of God Himself. By torturing and killing Him, they give vent to their wrath against God.”

73 = “Jesus never sugarcoats the mission to His disciples: persecution is part and parcel of the task He puts before them and a vital component of their witness before the people.”

74 = “He is setting them up not for a worldly victory but for an eternal one.”

“He also reminds them that this persecution has a cause: Jesus Himself.”

77 = “He asserts that the reason for the world’s hatred is that His disciples belong to Him and not to the world.”

75 = “. . . Jesus assures His followers that this suffering is not to be feared.”

“In the end, a Christian’s brave and loyal witness – to stand with Jesus no matter the cost – will be rewarded in kind. It is Jesus Himself who will advocate for the faithful Christian on the last day, and thus he need not fear judgment.”

76 = “Jesus also seems to suggest that persecution will intensify as the world approaches its final days.”

77 = “Persecution is not only guaranteed Christ’s followers, it is also a choice that they are called to make, since many times they will be able to avoid it through compromise. . . . This, Jesus warns, is a temptation they must resist [through prayer and trust].”

79 = “He [prays] an endearing plea to His Father to defend His disciples from Satan and to strengthen them for the mission that lies ahead.”

228 = “In today’s world, the [more common] temptation for many of us is not apostasy . . . but rather assimilation. It is so much easier to shade the truth of the Gospel in order to be well liked, to advance in our careers, and to be accepted by ‘the world’ than to stand firm and expose ourselves to ridicule and ostracization for our fidelity to Christ.”

“Today, the Roman emperors’ invitation to ‘save ourselves’ by burning a little incense to them, a ‘harmless’ act of external compliance, often takes the form of pressure to ‘go along to get along. – to adapt to the moral trends of our times rather than be a sign of contradiction.”

237 = “A great danger involved in encountering opposition is that it can make us think [that] we are on the wrong path.”

238 = “Jesus [of course] foresaw this danger and warned His disciples over and over that persecution is to be expected.”

238 = “This awareness changes everything. Knowing that persecution has always been part of the plan, we can more easily persevere when people oppose us. Rather than assuming that this means we are on the wrong path, it becomes an assurance that we are on the right path. In fact, if a Christian faces no resistance at all, he should probably examine the intensity of his engagement with the faith.”

239 = “After promising His apostles a share in His suffering and persecution, Jesus also promises them a share in His peace, and the two promises are not contradictory.”

247 = “Persecution is a constant reminder that Christians are in exile and that our home is not in this world.”

260 = “Awareness of the widespread persecution that afflicts the followers of Christ should . . . embolden rather than intimidate us.”

[Scripture]

0 = “‘Who is it that overcomes the world but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?’”

72 = “‘He who hates Me hates My Father also. If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would have no sin ; but now they have seen and hated both Me and My Father. It is to fulfill the word that is written in their law, “They hated Me without cause.”’” {Jn 15:23-25}

73 = “. . . [Jesus’s] urging them not to fear those who can kill the body but cannot kill the soul.” {Mt 10:28}

75 = “‘. . . everyone who acknowledges Me before men, I will also acknowledge before My Father . . . ; but whoever denies Me before men, I also will deny before My Father . . .’”

76 = “‘Do not think that I have come to bring peace on the earth ; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.’” {Mt 10:34-36}

“‘He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.’” {Mt 10:37-39}

77 = “‘If the world hates you, know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own ; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you,’” {Jn 15:18-19}

134 = “‘. . . we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness . . .’” {Eph 6:12}

203 = “Jesus asks a challenging question: ‘When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?’” {Lk 18”8}

228 = “. . . Paul declared, ‘. . . I rejoice in my sufferings . . ‘“ {Col 1:24}

232 = “St. Paul echoes. . .: ‘Repay no one evil for evil . . . leave all punichent to God . . . overcome evil with good’ . . . “ {Rom 12:14, 17, 21}

233 = “Peter and the other apostles famously responded to the high priest, ‘We must obey God rather than men.’” {Acts 5:29, 41-42}

234 = “Jesus counsels joy in the face of persecution. . . “

239 = “‘Peace I leave with you ; My peace I give to you ; not as the world gives do I give it to you. . . . Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.’” {Mt 14:27}

“‘I have said this to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you [will] have tribulation ; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world, . . . ‘“ {Jn 16:33}

240 = “[Jesus says,] ‘The gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.’” {Mt 7:14}

“ . . . St. Paul exclaimed, ‘I can do all things in Him Who strengthens me.’” {Philippians 4:13}

247 = It is significant that the first pope, St. Peter, told Christians they must [always] be prepared to give reasons for their hope. {1 Pet 3:15}

250 = “Jesus said, ‘Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.’” {Mt 15:13}

[Christian response to persecution]

170 = “‘. . . refuse to deny Jesus’, said Fr. Hamel.”

227 = “Even in His darkest hour, Jesus prayed to the Father, ‘Not My will, but Your will, be done.’” {Mt 26:53-54}

“. . . never a sense of fatalism. . . “

228 = “In the same way, Christians are called to embrace whatever share of persecution befalls them as a consequence of their free choice to follow in their Master’s [Christ’s] footsteps.”

“. . . we should also be aware of the many paths that are not open to us. While fear of harassment, ridicule, pain, torture, [and death] is a perfectly rational human response, we are [called] to beg the grace of God to endure whatever He asks of us without compromising our loyalty to [Him].”

229-250 = “What then are the key attitudes and virtues that the true Christian should cultivate in response to persecution? (239 = “. . . reads like a litany of Christ’s virtues during His Passion)

Love (Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount)

Remembrance (the martyrs’ example)

Joy (‘per crucem ad lucem’ = ‘through the cross to the light’)

Prayer (‘watch and pray’ for God’s strength)

Serenity (allows us to face suffering peacefully, and that changes everything)

Courage (fortitude enables us to conquer fear, even fear of death, to face trials)

Patience (w/o this . . ., a Christian would abandon the mission as soon as persecution)

Docility (divine pedagogy)

Hope (hope shines most truly . . . in darkest times ; hope is the stuff of gulags)

250 = “The imitatio Christi – ‘the imitation of Christ’ – . . . is central to Christian spirituality [and] its culmination [is] in martyrdom.”

251 = “When we face persecution, we are offered a privileged opportunity to imitate Christ in His redemptive act and in His perfect obedience to the Father.”

253 = “Persecution . . . must be recognized as a means of drawing others to Christ.”

254 = “It would be a mistake, however, to conclude that Christians are called to allow persecution to go on unchecked. Religious freedom and the defense of basic human rights are central to the mission of the Church in the world, since they stand at the core of the common good. Where rights are violated with impunity, the common good cannot flourish. Christians must insist on their right to carry out their mission of living and preaching their faith without undue interference.”

259 “ . . . there [would seem to be] . . . times when Christians are called to exercise discernment, which will often mean standing up for the truth rather than passively resigning themselves to lies and abuse.”

“Christian persecution is wrong and must be opposed. It is evil to persecute people because of their beliefs, and it creates unjust situations of pressure in which many may end up betraying or hiding their beliefs out of fear of reprisals. But Christians are not the only ones harmed by persecution. The persecutors . . . also do damage to their own souls.”

260 = “My parents put up on the wall a small plaque that read: ‘The will of God will never lead you where the grace of God cannot keep you.’

“If His will includes suffering for us, His grace will be sufficient for us to bear it.”

“Jesus’s words must be a light for our path:

‘In the world you have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.’” {Jn 16:33}

mlk 6-24-23 Bona Libris