While the deaths of Christians around the world are horrifying, it's a comfort to know that our all-knowing Lord has foreseen their suffering.
The headlines have been so horrifying lately that it's hard to sleep peacefully. It seems that every day, there is a story about Christians (the most persecuted religious group in the world) being killed for their faith.
The other night I was praying the Rosary in the wee hours of the morning when the story of the WWII Polish martyr nun Sr. Kanuta came to mind in a powerful way, specifically her vision of Jesus promising her a red dress.
Sr. Kanuta was one of the Sisters of Nowogrodek, the 11 Polish martyr nuns whose feast day we celebrate on August 1. When Sr. Kanuta and her Sisters learned that 120 of their townsmen were to be deported to a labor camp, they met in their small chapel and prayed fervently to be taken in the townsmen's place.
Their prayers were answered almost immediately. On the same day the Sisters were arrested and murdered in a forest by the Nazis, all 120 townsmen were spared.
Long before this miracle, Jesus had promised a red dress
To understand the significance of Sr. Kanuta's martyrdom and why it was such a comfort to me the other night, you have to know about her red dress. John Grondelski at the National Catholic Register explained the significance of this garment in a most eloquent way:
[Sister Kanuta's given name was Józefa Chrobot.] Józefa did not plan on a religious vocation. She expected to be married and even had a fiancé. But she had a mystical experience in which she felt God calling her, telling her, “Do not marry Stanisław! Your beloved is waiting for you in Grodno, and he will give you a red dress for a wedding present.”
Grodno (Belarusian Hrodna) is the largest town near Nowogródek with which Józefa had few connections. And a red dress was a strange wedding gift. But she obeyed, entering the convent. And while she might not have found a human fiancé in Nowogródek, the 47-year-old found the Bridegroom who did give her a red dress for the nuptial feast of the Lamb. When the sisters were exhumed, it was found that the bodies had fallen into the grave in such a way that Sister Józefa’s habit was wholly stained by their blood.
It is such a strange comfort to know that Sr. Kanuta's red wedding dress wasn't a shock to our all-knowing Lord, just as the deaths of modern martyrs aren't a shock to him either.
To die is gain
I keep finding myself challenged by the horror with which we mortals view death, even though "the deaths of the saints are precious in the eyes of the Lord." (Psalm 116:15) St. Paul even said, "To live is Christ, and to die is gain." (Philippians 1:21) And Jesus made it clear ... "he who lives and believes in me shall never die." (John 11:26)
These are just a few verses about how "death has been swallowed up in victory." (1 Corinthians 15:54) There are many more.
And while I will never fully understand why a loving God permits so much evil in the world, in recent days I have also taken great comfort in the words of Corrie Ten Boom, the well-known Christian survivor of the Holocaust who often quoted the famous poem The Tapestry. Ten Boom talked about this poem so often, many have mistakenly attributed its authorship to her. But it was actually written by the 19th-century minister Grant Colfax Tullar.
The Tapestry (bold added for emphasis)
My life is but a weaving
Between my God and me.
I cannot choose the colors
He weaveth steadily.
Oft’ times He weaveth sorrow;
And I in foolish pride
Forget He sees the upper
And I the underside.
Not ’til the loom is silent
And the shuttles cease to fly
Will God unroll the canvas
And explain the reason why.
The dark threads are as needed
In the Weaver’s skillful hand
As the threads of gold and silver
In the pattern He has planned.
He weaveth in joy and sorrow,
And I, in foolish pride,
Forget He sees the upper
And I the underside.
Not ’til the loom is silent
And the shuttles cease to fly
Will God unroll the canvas
And explain the reason why.
The tapestry is a reminder
That life’s trials and tribulations
Are part of a greater design,
Crafted by a loving hand
Like so many others around the world, I am grieving the loss of brothers and sisters in Christ, even if I didn't know them personally but only learned of from the media. Lately, I have come to think of them as being in the company of Sr. Kanuta, Corrie Ten Boom, and so many other martyrs and saints who died because of their faith, their commitment to Christ, and proclaiming his truth in a dark and hateful world.
Let us follow them ...
St. Tertuillian once famously said, "The blood of the martyr is the seed of the Church." St. Augustine added to that: "We do not commemorate them in the same way that we do others who rest in peace so as to pray for them, but rather that they may pray for us, that we may follow in their footsteps."
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.
And may all the martyrs in Heaven pray for us.
You can read the source of this text here.
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