As Catholics we can often feel so helpless over the current political or economic situation of the world that we don't have the strength to share the Gospel. Othertimes we are so upset or disheartened by scandals in the Church that we fall into despair and are ashamed to share with others we are Catholic Christians. But for most of us, the struggle with our own sin and brokenness is what we find ourselves burdened with.
Our life of faith as Catholics requires a personal encounter with God, not just ideas or concepts. Through prayer and the sacraments we can have the strength and grace needed to live our faith. Some times we need to grab on tight and cling to the hem of Jesus' robe, just like the woman from the Gospels who has bled for 12 years and was healed! (Matthew 9:20-22,Mark 5:25-34,Luke 8:43-48). Othertimes we need to be like the Patriarch Jacob and wrestle with God, not letting go until we receive a blessing (Genesis 32:22-32).
All of us regularly need healing and blessing, but as you can see from the two examples, the healing and blessing did not come until there was a personal encounter with God. It was this encounter that transformed their lives.
On Judgment Day we will not be accountable for all the people we have converted, but rather by how we lived our faith and let the light of Christ shine (John 3:19, John 5:24, Matthew 18:6, Matthew 5:31-46). We are responsible for the talents and blessings we have been given and how we used them (Luke 14:28).
The light of Christ that we need to share with others and witness to in the world is a light that shines in the darkness. It brings hope, it brings healing, it brings help. To hold up the truth of the light of the Gospel even when we are not perfect and struggling with our sin is not being a hypocrite, but it is being a sign of contradiction (Luke 2:34). To shine the light of Christ is to be a witness to the truth (John 18:37), witnessing that the love of Jesus saves and the truth of the Gospel sets us free (John 8:32).
In the early Church they developed a very strong devotion to the martyrs who died for the faith. In Greek, the word "martyr" actually means witness. So to be killed for the faith was an act of witness, whereby remaining faithful to Christ and the faith, their very death was an act of preaching to the world. Their life and death was their witness (John 20:4). Through the shedding of their blood, the martyrs washed their baptismal robes white in the Blood of the Lamb (Revelation 7:14). They did not fear death, but trusted in God and became victorious, entering eternal life (Revelation 2:10).
Not all of us are called to to be killed for the faith. This is known as "red martyrdom". However, we are all called to they everyday martyrdom of carrying our cross to follow Jesus (Matthew 16:24) - this is known as "white martyrdom". This everyday witnessing to our faith is a martyrdom. A daily dying to self and trying to follow Jesus, dying to sin and selfishness to have life in Christ (John 12:25, Matthew 10:29).
This daily martyrdom calls us to serving others (Mark 9:35, Luke 6:38, 1 Peter 4:10). Martyrdom consists in blessing those who curse us (Luke 6:28, Luke 6:35, Matthew 5:44, Romans 12:14), as well as loving our enemies and praying for those who attack or persecute us. This also means be patient with eachother, letting go of grudges and offences (1 Peter 3:9, Ephesians 4:31-32). Finally it consists in forgiving people who hurts us, letting go of the offence and forgiving over and over again (Matthew 7:1-5, Matthew 18:21-22, Matthew 18:35, Luke 17:3-4, Mark 6:14-15). Forgiving others is one of the greatness forms of martyrdom, the witness of forgiving others as Jesus has forgiven us (Luke 23:24). To show mercy and love to others is how we are called to imitate Jesus (Matthew 5:7, John 13:35). This is the light of Christ we need to let shine before all people (Matthew 5:16). The light is now ours, the light has been given to us to pass on and share with others (1 John 1:5-9, Luke 11:34-35).
The martyrs give us wonderful examples of their dedication to Christ. Today the Church gives us St Cecilia who was a Virgin Martyr highly revered in the early Church, so much so that she is mentioned in the Roman Canon prayed at Mass (Eucharistic Prayer 1). Other martyred saints in the Roman Canon are Sts Perpetual & Felicity, St Agnes, St Agatha - all amazing women who died for Christ. But we have modern martyrs too. We can think of St Maximilian Kolbe, St Titus Brandsma during the Nazi times, but also more recently the 21 Lybian martyrs and Fr Jacques Hamel.
The martyrs all witnessed their love of Christ through their death (Revelation 2:10). But they could not have been faithful to Jesus if they did not first feel loved by him (2 Corinthians 5:14). Jesus loves us all, he loves you and he even loves me (Romans 5:8, Galatians 2:20).
We are not all called to be great missionaries, or preachers, or theologians, or famous people in the Church. But we are all called to be saints. We are all called to show others the difference the love of God makes in our life. When we have been transformed by the love of God, we do not need to use words, people will be able to see there is something different about us. When Jesus has encountered and transformed us we will have peace (John 14:27), we will have joy (John 15:11), and we will shine light that will glorify God and bring others to him (Matthew 5:16).
We know God works through our weaknesses not in our perfections. Following God when we are struggling is one of the most beautiful witnesses we can ever give to others. Jesus has given us the Sacraments and the Holy Spirit to give us the strength and grace we need (John 16-1:16).
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