In the special issue of the parish news letter of Yamagata on the Thanksgiving Mass in Hokusanbara on Saturday, which I mentioned yesterday's post, the editorial team made great effort to interview quite a number of people who joined the celebration.
Number of voices mentioned that the Thanksgiving Mass was really moving and they had experienced a sense of Holiness during the Mass. I did have the same feeling while I was celebrating the Mass on Saturday at the exact spot these beatified had been executed sensing that the martyrs, our ancestor in Christianity in Japan were together with us throughout the Eucharist to pray with us and intercede for us.
Now after the celebration, we have to begin to follow them.
In his Encyclical, "Spe Salvi", Holy Father mentioned as follows.
"To suffer with the other and for others; to suffer for the sake of truth and justice; to suffer out of love and in order to become a person who truly loves—these are fundamental elements of humanity, and to abandon them would destroy man himself. (39)"
Quoting this I said in my homily on Saturday that the martyrs lives were exactly the showcase of these fundamental elements of humanity pointed out by Holy Father. They suffered throughout their lives with others and for others. They suffered throughout their lives for the sake of truth and justice. They suffered throughout their lives out of love and in order to become people who truly love. That is why people in Yonezawa paid great respect to our ancestor in faith. In spite of persecution, many joined the Christian community in Yonezawa. So we should know what we have to do now. We also have to follow their lives.
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