Today’s first reading present the unshakeable faith and authentic witnessing of 7 brothers and their mother. They all bore witness to God because of their unwavering hope in the Lord and the resurrection of the dead on the last day. Also, St Cecilia, whose memorial we celebrate today, did a similar thing. She was asked by the Prefect to repudiate her faith. Her response was: “Do you not know that I am the bride of my Lord Jesus Christ?” She was eventually sentenced to death by suffocation and was later struck with an axe in the head and breast. But in the face of persecution, she remained steadfast, courageous and calm. She later said: “Do you not know that nothing will make me so happy as to die for Christ?” According to Tertullian, “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.” The Church is what it is today because some persons shed their blood like Christ and defended their faith. We all are beneficiaries of this awesome and complete commitment to their Christian faith. Can we do the same if we are caught between the preservation of our faith and orders from those in Authority?

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, give me the grace to be an authentic witness to my faith. Amen