ON ACCOUNT OF CHRIST’S NAME

A young priest and a bishop were traveling from Siuchow to Linchow on February 13, 1930. With them was a group of young catechists on their way to a mission outpost. At some point in their river journey, some Bolshevik pirates commandeered the boat and took interest in one of the young female catechists. The bishop and the priest defended the hapless girl with all the strength they could muster. But the group of pirates would brook no opposition to their evil plans and they murdered the bishop and the priest. By God’s grace, the two heard each other’s confessions before they died. The two men of the cloth, Bishop Luigi Versiglia and Father Callistus Caravario, both Salesian missionaries from Turin, Italy, were beatified by Pope Paul VI and canonized by Pope John Paul II in the year 2000. They died, as they lived, true to their youthful dream of following the footsteps of Christ as taught them by St. John Bosco, father and teacher of the youth. Though uneducated men, they rose up to tell the story of Christ after He died and rose from the dead. The authorities did what the powers-that-be usually do to people they fear. They persecuted them, true to what their Lord and Master prophesied: “If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you…. And they will do all these things to you on account of my name.” Last year, in the run-up towards the national elections, tension ran high between and among the electorate. The electing public was sorely divided between so many candidates. Each group rallied behind a particular name. But in not a few cases, they rallied behind someone because they stood to gain, because their interests were at stake. They were supporters of a particular candidate, but they were never followers or disciples, like the first Christians and martyrs were… like Sts. Luigi Versiglia and Callistus Caravario were, along with thousands of others. The difference? They suffered on account of Christ’s name! Fr. Chito Dimaranan, SDB   Reflection Question: For what cause are you willing to stake your life on?   Lord, to follow You more closely and to love You more dearly are what I desire each day.   St. Accidia, pray for us.