The Irish Martyrs (Martyrs They Died for Christ Book 2)

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At first, the term applied to Apostles. Once Christians started to undergo persecution , the term came to be applied to those who suffered hardships for their faith.

Finally, it was restricted to those who had been killed for their faith. The early Christian period before Constantine I was the "Age of martyrs". Early Christians venerated martyrs as powerful intercessors , and their utterances were treasured as inspired by the Holy Spirit. It was used for a person who speaks from personal observation. The martyr , when used in a non-legal context, may also signify a proclamation that the speaker believes to be truthful.

The term was used by Aristotle for observations, but also for ethical judgments and expressions of moral conviction that can not be empirically observed. There are several examples where Plato uses the term to signify "witness to truth", including in Laws. The Greek word martyr signifies a " witness " who testifies to a fact he has knowledge about from personal observation. It is in this sense that the term first appears in the Book of Acts , in reference to the Apostles as "witnesses" of all that they had observed in the public life of Christ.

The Apostles , from the beginning, faced grave dangers until eventually almost all suffered death for their convictions. Thus, within the lifetime of the Apostles, the term martyrs came to be used in the sense of a witness who at any time might be called upon to deny what he testified to, under penalty of death. From this stage the transition was easy to the ordinary meaning of the term, as used ever since in Christian literature: John , at the end of the first century, employs the word with this meaning.

Yet the term martyr was still sometimes applied during the third century to persons still living, as, for instance, by Cyprian who gave the title of martyrs to a number of bishops, priests, and laymen condemned to penal servitude in the mines. Religious martyrdom is considered one of the more significant contributions of Second Temple Judaism to western civilization. It is believed that the concept of voluntary death for God developed out of the conflict between King Antiochus Epiphanes IV and the Jewish people.

With few exceptions, this assumption has lasted from the early Christian period to this day, accepted both by Jews and Christians. According to Daniel Boyarin, there are "two major theses with regard to the origins of Christian martyrology, which [can be referred to] as the Frend thesis and the Bowersock thesis. Frend's view of martyrdom as having originated in "Judaism" and Christian martyrdom as a continuation of that practice. Frend argues that the Christian concept of martyrdom can only be understood as springing from Jewish roots.

Frend writes, "In the first two centuries C.

Remembering the Irish martyrs

In contrast to Frend's hypothesis, Boyarin describes G. Bowersock's view of Christian martyrology as being completely unrelated to the Jewish practice, being instead "a practice that grew up in an entirely Roman cultural environment and then was borrowed by Jews. It ran its course in the great urban spaces of the agora and the amphitheater, the principal settings for public discourse and for public spectacle.

It depended upon the urban rituals of the imperial cult and the interrogation protocols of local and provincial magistrates. Boyarin points out that, despite their apparent opposition to each other, both of these arguments are based on the assumption that Judaism and Christianity were already two separate and distinct religions. He challenges that assumption and argues that "making of martyrdom was at least in part, part and parcel of the process of the making of Judaism and Christianity as distinct entities.

Tertullian , one of the 2nd century Church Fathers wrote that "the blood of martyrs is the seed of the Church ", implying that the martyrs' willing sacrifice of their lives leads to the conversion of others. Some felt they should not, while others said they could.

In the end, it was agreed to allow them in after a period of penance. This issue caused the Donatist and Novatianist schisms. The "eschatological ideology" [ citation needed ] of martyrdom was based on an irony found in the Pauline epistles: Margaret Ball, wife and mother, faithful to Mother Church who was turned in by her own son, the Mayor of Dublin at the time.

Francis Taylor, a previous Mayor of Dublin, who refused to take the Oath of Allegiance to the Crown, and was executed. Bishop Terrence O'Brien was a Dominican who excommunicated those disobeying the mandates of the Church and participated in an unjust truce, for this he died. Journeys of Faith DVD 30 mins Bob and Penny travelled to Lithuania to bring you a true "alter Christus" an Archbishop who shares his testimony of 9 years as a prisoner in the concentration camps of Siberia because he was a priest.

Listen to how he shares taking what little bread and grape rations he had and saying Mass at the risk of being killed Listen as our priest tells of the atrocities he suffered and the difficulties of being a priest and tending his sheep in the prison camp. An important video, for this shepherd speaks to his fellow bishops and priests around the world. Meet Senorita Mercedes, who worked with Fr. Ubiarco during his life, passing out propaganda material.

We go to the small town where Father Reyes had his ministry, was captured by the soldiers and tortured in front of the Church. Read the inscription on his monument and visit his tomb. A persecuted people always under attack, they turned to their God Who listened to them and answered their prayers; they placed crosses on this hill. During the occupation of two monsters the Nazis and the Soviets, the faithful put up these crosses, and after the enemy took them down, they put them up again, at the risk of their lives! Go with us to the beautiful Shrine of Our Lady of Siuliai.

We tell the story about this Shrine. We visit the Gate of Dawn Chapel, and tell the story of this beautiful chapel plus we tell the story about the Hill of Three Crosses and how the Communists destroyed these Crosses and how the people of Lithuania rebuilt them. Journeys of Faith DVD 30 mins Live the story of four men who were caught in a trap set for a patriot who launched a Holy Crusade against the Protestants in an effort to free Ireland from the grasp of tryrants.

They were priests and a bishop who were accused of treason and executed. Their trials were a farce.

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The saddest thing was Fr. Tirry defended himself and the others believing justice would be truly served, as the members of the jury were honest men. But the judge had the jury leave the room and condemned them to death.

How These Martyrs for the Faith Can Get You Really Inspired

See the factory where he worked, studying underground for the priesthood. Visit the Church in Krakow where he said his first Mass. Go to Kalvaria, his special Shrine, where he would climb the mountain saying the Rosary at each of the chapels. Then go on to Rome and his life as our Sweet Christ on Earth. Toribio Romo, a young 28 year old priest, clandestinely, celebrating Mass, and the other Sacraments. Go deep into the jungle where the people still live the primitive life without electricity, running water and the like. Track the life of Fr.

Learn about the courage of these two martyrs of the Twentieth Century, martyrs for the Faith. One of these martyrs was Marianna Biernacka, who was born in When some German soldiers were killed by the resistance in Poland, the Nazis decided to shoot Polish citizens. Because her daughter in law was pregnant, Marianna begged the Germans to take her life instead. Marianna was killed on July 13, Like Marianna, we should learn to make small acts of self-sacrifice daily, so when the opportunity presents itself we are ready, willing, and able to make a larger act of loving self-sacrifice.

In , the Act of Supremacy made it a treasonable offense not to acknowledge the English monarch as head of the Church. In both countries, many Catholics were put to death. In , John Paul II proclaimed a representative group from Ireland from the 16th and 17th centuries and beatified them. Oliver Plunkett was canonized in and brought an awareness of the other brave men and women who died for the Catholic faith in England and Ireland.

Healy was offered his freedom if only he would swear the oath. He refused to take the Oath of Supremacy and was found guilty of treason. Another, Margaret Ball, died in prison in She was arrested by order of her Protestant son who knew she provided safe houses for bishops and priests passing through Dublin. We should pray that like Margaret, we have the courage to do the mission God is calling us to do, even if our family and friends do not understand. Thomas More is the patron saint of lawyers.

He was born in London in and studied law at Oxford. He wrote the book Utopia. In , he married Jane Colt and had four children. After his wife died, he married widow Alice Middleton who raised his children.

Irish Catholic Martyrs

As Chancellor, it was his duty to enforce the laws against heretics. In doing so, he lost nearly all of his income. Thomas More was eventually convicted of treason, after false witnesses testified at his trial. Thomas was then beheaded on July 6, Thomas More, we should not place our allegiance to the State above our allegiance to God, no matter the personal or financial ramifications. Ten thousand Roman soldiers were led by St. Acacius to convert to Christianity.

They were crucified by the order of the Roman emperor on Mount Ararat in modern Turkey. The event was extremely popular in Renaissance art. Finding too strong an opponent all fled except nine thousand soldiers. A fter these had been converted to Christ by the voice of an angel they turned upon the enemy and completely routed them. They were then brought to the top of Mount Ararat and instructed in the faith.

When the emperors heard of the victory they sent for the converts to join in sacrifices of thanksgiving to the gods. They refused, and the emperors applied to five tributary kings for aid against the rebels. The kings responded to the call, bringing an immense army.

The Christians were asked to deny their faith, and, on refusal, were stoned. But the stones rebounded against the assailants, and at this miracle a thousand soldiers joined the confessors. Hereupon the emperors ordered all to be crucified. Zechariah actually disbelieved the angel when he heard the news because he and his wife were well past child bearing years.

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