Sharing: Vietnamese Martyrs (Nov.24.2009) (in Japan)

Through His words Jesus foretold that His disciples would be persecuted and told them how to face persecution: “Whenever they hand you over for trial, do not worry about how to speak or what to say, for what you should say will be given to you at that time” (Mt 10, 19). Persecution is the inevitable fate of the Lord’s disciples, because their lifestyle and message expose them to the viciousness of the world.

Fr. Rector asked me to share with you some things about the Vietnamese Martyrs commemorated today.

The Gospel came to Vietnam in the sixteenth century. But it was in 1615 that a new period opened in the history of the mission in Vietnam with the organization of the first parish and the presence of the Jesuit fathers : Francesco Buzomi, Diego Carvallos and others. Specifically, in 1625, from Macao, Fr. Alexandre de Rhodes, four other Jesuit priests and a Japanese Christian arrived in Hoi An, Da Nang, in central Vietnam. From here, due to their rapid integration into the culture of Vietnam, the Good News spread extremely fast. In 1650, there were about 300,000 Christians and the annual increase was about 15,000 new believers every year.

However, besides the expansion of God’s Kingdom, persecution also started. The reasons for persecution by the authorities (in that time, our country was divided into 2 parts but with 3 kings) were prejudice and superstition, then, fear of invasion from the West, since more and more people followed the western religion. Christians were caught by thousands of tricks, and were tortured dreadfully. Their life and death were separated only by a fragile border. The king banned all foreign missionaries and tried to make all Vietnamese apostatize by trampling on a crucifix. By stepping on the Cross they could live, and avoid tortures. Many heroes faithful to Christ died in witness to the Gospel of life. Nonetheless, many people, including the martyr saints, stepped on the Cross for fear of suffering or for their family... But after that they repented and returned to the way of Jesus. From the beginning of the seventeenth century to the end of the nineteenth century, about 130 thousand Catholics were killed or subjected to great hardship. Among these were bishops, priests, teachers, seminarians, nuns of the Love of Cross and numerous lay people.

On June 19, 1988, Pope John Paul II canonized 117 Vietnamese Martyrs. Then, on March 5, 2000, the very first martyr in Vietnam (from the year 1625 or 1626) was beatified. That was Andrew Phu Yen. He was martyred at a very young age,18.

In the Gospel today, Jesus says "Do not be afraid" 3 times. The martyrs did so.

1. “Do not be afraid of them, for nothing is hidden that will not be revealed, and nothing is secret that will not be made known” (Mt 10, 26), because the truth is always the truth. Fidelity to the truth sometimes requires us to pay a very expensive price, may be even our life.

2. “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul” (Mt 10, 28). The profound reasons for Gospel courage that Jesus taught his disciples are the true conception of man, including both body and soul. The physical body may be disadvantaged but the soul, the spirit will not be bent if one firmly believes in God.

3. Do not be afraid because of the Providence of God (Mt 10, 31). By being aware of God's loving care, the disciples will give bold witness to God.

The lessons we can learn from the death of the martyr saints are lessons of life. Death itself has no value; it is life that does marvelous things. Life is love of the people around us, love of noble and true things. That love is intensely kindled in the mystery of self-sacrifice and devotion.

Disciples are assimilated to Jesus and share His condition. But the disciples feel weak, not strong enough to face persecution. The weakness of the disciples is the power of God. Knowing how easily we can fall, we trust in God and are united with Him. Our Society also experienced persecution; and prays to be persecuted for greater glory of God.

In 1878, King Canh Thinh ordered a massacre of Christians. They, on escaping, embraced their children and hid in the forest La Vang; and here, according to tradition, the Blessed Mother appeared to console and protect them. Then, with the slogan "dislodge the Western, destroy false religion”, thousands of soldiers besieged the village of Tra Kieu, La Vang. Tra Kieu was like an island located deep in a valley, and was a victim of attack for 21 days, from September 1 to September 21, 1885. But there appeared “a woman wearing white clothes” from the temple tower embracing her child, who provided ammunition for the Catholics inside. Now, this place becomes famous in Vietnam. In the August of every year, many people pilgrimage to Lavang to attend mass, to visit the holy land and to pray with Mary.