As Christians, we believe that love for another is most sincerely expressed in the act of sacrifice. If love is willing the good of the other for the other’s sake, sacrifice shows that there is no expectation to receive anything in return. If this is true, then the ultimate sacrifice and therefore the ultimate act of love is to lay down one’s life for another, and this is directly taught to us by Christ himself. Christ’s death on the cross was the perfect expression of this love for humanity, but what is most profound is that despite our weaknesses, we can also participate in that sacrificial love through martyrdom. 

In the book of Revelation, as the world awaits the second coming of Christ, John receives a revelation that the salvation and damnation of souls will take place in stages. However, the first group to receive the invitation to participate in the Wedding Feast of the Lamb are the souls of the martyrs. They are given priority among God’s faithful because they sacrificed their own lives for Christ’s Church and the greater good. Why is there such an emphasis on the act of martyrdom in Scripture and in our remembrance of the saints? 

When an individual becomes a parent for the first time, they are overcome by the true meaning of love. For many, this is the first time in their lives when they finally understand what love really is; there is now a person whose life depends on their protection, and it is impossible for a newborn child to give anything in return for that protection. But the only way the child can have a happy and healthy life is through the true love of their parents. Usually, it is through becoming a parent that many come to understand their own parents’ love for them. This analogy is applicable to martyrdom. Through martyrdom, you are finally faced with the real meaning of love: you sacrifice everything you have for something other than yourself. For the martyrs, their sacrifice is not just out of love for God; it is also out of love for His Church, for us. Through their act of sacrifice, the Church flourishes, our practice of our own faith becomes easier, and we can learn the meaning of love from them. The martyrs are our spiritual parents, and we are their spiritual children. We know they love us, but we’ll never truly understand their love for us until we love others in the same way - through sacrifice.

The recent history of the Church in the context of it existing for the past 2,000 years should serve as a warning to us as Catholics. Before the coming of Christ, when God had a unique relationship with Israel, most people throughout the world were kept from knowing and learning about the one, true God because of where they lived, the societies they were a part of, or the lack of availability in communication. We must understand that their unfamiliarity with God was not through any fault of their own, and although it is rare, there are still some people in the world today who are completely unfamiliar with the God of the Bible.

In Catholic moral teaching, culpability plays a role in the responsibility of one’s actions, but it cannot be abused. We now live in a world where communication grants us access to all information known to man (including world history, and Christianity’s role). We live in a society built upon tenets of Christianity. We are even so blessed as to have the fullness of God’s revelation to humanity through the teachings and mission of Jesus Christ and his apostles. Despite all of this, many people actively leave the Church and reject Her teachings. Unfortunately, in these situations, those who reject the Church are not in the same situation as those who never learned about God in the first place. Those who reject the faith despite knowing it are culpable for their actions.

This may sound pessimistic, but there is tremendous hope. When these individuals leave the Church, they either reject meaningful philosophies or religions altogether or they are swayed by what Paul calls “an empty, seductive philosophy according to the traditions of men.” These seductive philosophies are many, but they all prioritize humanity as the source of all knowledge and meaning. In both of these situations, the person who leaves a life based in Christ will become incredibly lonely on a spiritual level; God is the source of all goodness, and life becomes empty when we think we can manifest goodness without Him. The hope here, though, is that it forces those of us who are unwavering Christians to be our “brother’s keeper,” to fortify our evangelism, to act in charity, and to testify to the truth of Christ so that we may enable others to be unwavering Christians as well, and to make a life without God unthinkable.

A recurring message of Christ during his public ministry can be found in the Gospel: those who delight in the things of this world will lose their delight when this life is over, whereas those who suffer in this life will delight in the next. He tells us plainly that those who are filled now will be hungry, those who laugh now will grieve and weep, and those who are lauded now are the equivalent to the false prophets of old. Why is this the case? We can understand the comfort of a message that those who suffer now will have their suffering alleviated, but why does he also tell us that those who enjoy earthly lives now will suffer later? 

It is not as simple as saying that Christ is an advocate for the mere reversal of fortunes; the message of the New Testament, which can be found in both the Gospel and in this passage from Paul’s letter to the Colossians, is that there is a marked difference between pleasures derived from earthly living and the true happiness that comes from living for God. Those who are poor or hungry or who weep and mourn are deprived of the goods that are necessary for any form of living. Satisfying their material needs will not give them contentment, but it will lift them out of the despair of suffering. What if we do not suffer? What if all of our earthly needs are met? This is the case for those who Christ calls out later on in the Gospel and what Paul warns us against: if you have an excess of wealth, or if you are sated, or if you are not in a state of mourning, you are not suffering. That’s great, but just because you are not suffering does not mean that you are thriving in the way you ought to; a life free from suffering is a life of comfort, but that can easily turn into a life of stagnation. It prevents us from sacrificing out of love, from seeking out adventure, from living for the sake of other people. No one wants to suffer, but sacrifice, adventure, and selflessness lead us to enjoy giving up earthly delights for the sake of something more meaningful. 

The absolute worst thing for human flourishing is stagnation. In the book of Revelation, Christ tells us that he wants us to be either hot or cold; to be passionate about our love for him is exactly what we were created to be. To be passionate in our hate for him is unfortunate, but this is probably misplaced passion that can be realigned into eventual devotion and love toward him. Those who are passionless, who are comfortable and content in living a life devoid of suffering (but also devoid of sacrifice, adventure, and selflessness) are lukewarm, and Christ tells us he spits those out of his mouth. For most of us in this part of the world and in this area of the country, our lives are very blessed with an abundance of earthly things. We are not in desperate need of money or food, we have access to plenty of recreation, and we are much more able than others in the world to multiply our wealth, our happiness, and our pleasure. This doesn’t make us bad people, nor does it necessarily mean we are those called out by Christ in the Gospel. But what are we doing with our excess wealth or food? How are we sharing our happiness? The abundance of these gifts can easily make us stagnant: if we are less dependent on God for our physical needs, for some reason we assume that this is equally true for our spiritual needs. Do not be stagnant. If you find excess in your life, share it. Sacrifice for others. Seek adventure to grow and to prevent stagnation. Be selfless in all that you do. The comforts of this world are fleeting, but the true contentment that can only be found in God is eternal.