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Gospel: Mark 6: 7-13
Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two
and gave them authority over unclean spirits.
He instructed them to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick
–no food, no sack, no money in their belts.
They were, however, to wear sandals but not a second tunic.
He said to them,
“Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave from there.
Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you,
leave there and shake the dust off your feet
in testimony against them.”
So they went off and preached repentance.
The Twelve drove out many demons,
and they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.
The Gospel of the Lord.
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When I think about Nagasaki, Japan, the first thing that comes to mind is the atomic bomb 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 faced another tragedy. The Japanese government was trying to systematically wipe out our faith, killing Christians 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, even children.
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And like Jesus, Saint Paul Miki used the cross as his pulpit to preach his final sermon.
These were his parting 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 government continued stomping out the Catholic faith until all traces of it were lost.
In fact, missionaries would not return to Japan for another 200 years…But when they did, they discovered that Paul Miki’s prayer had mysteriously come true.
200 years after his death, Christian missionaries returned, only to find that thousands of Christians were living quietly in Nagasaki and beyond, reminding us all of a very important truth:
The Church never dies.
In spite of scandal, persecution, or any threat to its mission, the Gospel message will never stop converting and saving souls.
But that truth is partly dependent upon us.
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Like Paul and his companions, how might we share our faith with someone else – in word or deed – today?
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Image credits: (1) Bethel Assembly Church (2) Rome of the West (3) spreadlovee.com