Martyrs- Defenders of the Faith

Martyrs are Christian men and women who, when faced with the choice to die or give up their faith, decide to choose God over all things. Martyrs are crucial to the Catholic Church because they prove unrelenting and unconditional love for God, even when faced with man's biggest mystery and fear- death.

In the Second Century A.D., A famous Church father named Father Tertullian wrote "the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church", meaning that the sacrifice that the martyrs endured would ensure the continuation of the Christian Church and Faith through inspiration of the masses.



Martyrs have been prevalent in the Catholic Church since its foundation. The first recorded martyrdom in the
Church was that of St. Stephen, who was stoned to death because of his faith in Jesus Christ. Further, the Bible holds that each of Jesus' Twelve Apostles but John was martyred for attempting to spread the faith of Christ's Kingdom. If Christ was not truly the Son of God, why would the apostles sacrifice their own lives for Him? Martyrdom as a concept makes no sense if Christ were not the Son of God, but because martyrdom is  and has been prevalent throughout the Church, we can believe that Christ is the Son of God.



-atohme

Grace- Undeserved, Unconditional

One of the biggest mysteries in the Catholic Faith is Grace, and how its very concept is undeserving yet unconditionally given. Consider an example, we're talking in the school hallways, and all of a sudden you decide to insult me and walk away. Later that day, you embarrass me in front of the whole grade by showing them a embarrassing (yet hilarious) picture of me. Finally, after school you decide to beat me up. Not nice right? After that day, do you think I'll still be your friend? Probably not.

This ludicrous example is the very premise for the concept of Grace. As defined throughout the Catholic Faith, Grace is undeserved yet unconditional love; a concept that is really hard for humans to understand and practice. So, it is possible to relate the example above to sinning, or going against God's commands.

Consider another example: You punch me in the face in the school cafeteria. Punishment? You'll probably get detention or a suspension from the school. However, if you punch the Principal in the face, you'd probably get expelled. To take this even farther, if you punched POTUS in the face, you would be considered a threat to national security. Take one thing from this example: even if you commit the same action but to people of higher and higher importance and power, the consequences change significantly. So, when we sin against God, it is an infinite offense, for God is an infinite Being with infinite power and importance.

However, despite every sin of every human being, God sends down His Only Son, to suffer and die for our sins. This is the very significance of the cross and the Catholic Faith- we turn away from God, every one of us turns away from God, yet all are offered a chance at redemption through Christ and the Cross. This is Grace in the purest form. Completely undeserved, 100% Unconditional proven through the sending of Jesus Christ. The least we can say is thank you.

- atohme