Faith Worth Defending
For a follower of Jesus, bearing witness to the Lord is both a supreme privilege and, at times, a daunting duty. The ultimate witness of martyrdom is only the most radical form of what is, in fact, an ordinary part of Christian living. “Everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in Heaven” (Mt 10:32). It is easy to see why Peter’s denial that he had ever even met Jesus was a tragic betrayal of their friendship.
The Protestant Reformation of the 16th century challenged the authority, teachings, and sacramental life of the Catholic Church, leading to the formation of various Protestant communities throughout Europe, such as the Calvinist movement. The ensuing upheaval confronted Catholics with a subtler temptation: to continue claiming friendship with Christ while rejecting the authority and teachings of His Church.
Adding to the confusion of this period was the tangled interweaving of political and economic interests with religious and doctrinal disputes. By the grace of God, many of the faithful were able to discern that loyalty to Jesus and to the Gospel that He entrusted to the Church is an all-or-nothing proposition. “Whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory” (Lk 9:26). The wars of religion were a harrowing ordeal, marked by tragic and shameful brutality on all sides, yet brightened by courageous and loving heroism. One such episode reached its climax in the Netherlands in the summer of 1572.
In 1552, a young Dominican friar of the German Convent of the Holy Cross completed his theological studies at the prestigious University of Cologne, where Albert the Great, Thomas Aquinas, Henry Suso, and John Tauler had studied and/or taught. Upon ordination, Friar John became parish priest in the village of Horner in the Spanish Netherlands, where he labored humbly and zealously for the salvation of souls for two decades.
His long and faithful ministry took a perilous turn when Calvinist forces captured the nearby towns of Dordrecht and Gorkum. John learned that the Catholic clergy there were imprisoned and tortured under pressure to repudiate the doctrines of the Real Presence and Papal Primacy. He immediately obtained permission from his superiors to visit the beleaguered captives secretly and console them with the Sacraments. Thinking only of fortifying his brothers in the faith despite great peril to himself, John succeeded for a time before finally being discovered. He joined the imprisoned clergy and shared in their horribly cruel treatment for about two weeks before all 19 of them were ordered to be hanged in the nearby city of Brielle.
Made to march around the gallows and mockingly provoked to sing to Mary, the group proudly and devoutly invoked Our Lady’s assistance with the Salve Regina. Beckoned to chant again, they solemnly intoned the Te Deum. Likened to the Master by their witness to the truth, “when reviled [they] did not threaten, but continued entrusting [themselves] to him who judges justly” (1 Pt 2:23). Finally, their sharing in the pattern of Christ’s death was brought to fulfillment as they were hanged in a barn on July 9, 1572.
We are right to be grateful that the profession of our Catholic faith is nowhere near as hazardous today as it was in 16th-century Europe, or as it remains for many of our brothers and sisters in other parts of the world. Few would deny, however, that this freedom can easily lead to complacency. If we were asked peacefully to offer a basic defense of the truth of Christ’s Real Presence in the Eucharist or the primacy of the Pope, some might be at a loss. Yet a ready reply would nobly manifest our love for the Lord and our gratitude for the gift of faith we have received. St. Peter encourages us: “Always [be] prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect” (1 Pt 3:15).
This imperative is salutary not only because it illustrates the beauty of the faith for those as yet unfamiliar with it, but also because it can be no less edifying for us. The experience of the Church over the centuries bears witness that the gift of faith grows within us as we share it with others. That we can have a friendly exchange about doctrinal differences today without coming to blows is certainly a gift for which to praise God. Yet this does not mean that the beauty of what Christ in His love has done for us is not worth dying for. Since the Lord shed His own Blood in order to bear witness to it, it is an honor for us to be given the chance even just to sweat a bit in defense and promulgation of so great a mystery.
Fr. Timothy Combs, OP
