During his papacy, Pope John Paul II canonized a group of 117 martyrs who died for the Roman Catholic Faith in Vietnam during the nineteenth century. The group was made up of ninety-six Vietnamese, eleven Spaniards, and ten French. Eight of the group were bishops, fifty were priests and fifty-nine were lay Catholics including a 9-year-old child. Some of the priests were Dominicans, others were diocesan priests who belonged to the Paris Mission Society.

This feast day, and the witnesses of the lives of the martyrs, give testament to the sufferings inflicted on the Vietnamese Church, which are among the most terrible in the long history of Christian martyrdom.

REFLECTION

before the Lord; for he is coming, for he is coming to judge the earth. Psalm 96:13

Advent approaches, and as we draw near to that season, the Scripture readings are all about the last things: death, judgment and eternity. These can be frightening to contemplate, subjects we might rather avoid. But we can’t. Here they are, presented to us in God’s Word. And, if we are honest, here they are in the ebb and flow of our lives. The Lord comes, and perhaps we tremble. A healthy fear of the Lord is, indeed, one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. But the lovely irony of this time—the surprise ending that is no secret at all—is that all of these portents, these mighty and overwhelming signs, lead to the Lord. For those who persist, those who put their fear and pride aside, are, indeed, led to the Lord—ruling from a manger in Bethlehem. Lord of all, I prepare for your coming.