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Gospel:
After making the crossing to the other side of the sea,
Jesus and his disciples came to land at Gennesaret
and tied up there.
As they were leaving the boat, people immediately recognized him.
They scurried about the surrounding country
and began to bring in the sick on mats
to wherever they heard he was.
Whatever villages or towns or countryside he entered,
they laid the sick in the marketplaces
and begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak;
and as many as touched it were healed.
The Gospel of the Lord.
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When I think of Nagasaki, Japan, I think about the atomic bomb, which was dropped on it during World War Two, incinerating 37,000 people in a matter of seconds.
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But 350 years earlier, the people of Nagasaki were facing another tragedy. The Japanese government was trying to systematically wipe out our faith; Christians were being killed by the thousands.
The first known group of martyrs included Saint Paul Miki and 25 of his companions, all of whom were crucified on a hill outside of Nagasaki, much like Jesus.
Among them were not only priests…but also the elderly, women, and children. We celebrate their memory today.
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Like Jesus, Saint Paul Miki used the cross as his pulpit to preach love and forgiveness.
These were his final words: “After Christ’s example, I forgive my persecutors. I do not hate them. I ask God to have pity on all, and I hope my blood will fall on my fellow men as fruitful rain.”
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The Japanese continued trying to stomp out the Catholic faith until all traces of it were lost.
In fact, missionaries would not return to Japan for another two hundred years…
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But when they did, they discovered there were thousands of Christians living underground in Nagasaki and beyond, revealing that Paul Miki’s prayer was answered.
The Church never dies.
It continues to spread for God’s glory and for the salvation of souls.
You and I are invited to share in this victory by spreading our faith in Jesus. How might I do that today?
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Image credits: (1) Archdiocese of Malta (2) Go!Good News Network, St. Paul Miki and Companions (3) Blog Archives, Verbum Dei Philippines