St. Lorenzo Ruiz: Finding the strength of a martyr

Where do martyrs get the strength to sacrifice their lives for the sake of Christ? Surely part of it stems from a radical consciousness of the contingency of their lives, knowing that all comes from God and returns to God, so that the only question becomes how to receive or let it go for the sake of the gospel. Like Job, they are able to say "The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD!" (Job 1:21), cultivating an identity solely based on the dignity that comes from the call of Jesus to discipleship and service to others. One can be as apparently insignificant as the child that Jesus presents in Luke 9 to his disciples as an example of becoming "the least." Only then can one join the ranks of martyrs like St. Lorenzo Ruiz, who have become the greatest through their witness to Christ's grace, even unto death.

 

-Given at the St. Thomas Aquinas Chapel (UST-St. Paul) on September 28, 2020, Memorial of St. Lorenzo Ruiz