22 Nov 2017
Memorial of St. Cecilia
“Most admirable and worthy of everlasting remembrance was the
mother, who saw her seven sons perish in a single day, yet bore it courageously
because of her hope in the Lord.” What’s
interesting to note, however, is that she didn’t just “bear it courageously”—she
was also active in making the martyrdoms happen. She encouraged her sons to die for their
faith.
We can easily expand that image and think of the mother as
the Church. As much as the Church wants
her children to be kept safe, she also encourages her sons and daughters to
give their lives for the faith. In the
face of terrorism, or injustice, or hatred, or simple indifference, Holy Mother
Church says to us: “Stand up for your faith in God.” And many of our brothers and sisters in the
faith have done just that.
It’s why we celebrate today Saint Cecilia. She vowed her virginity to God, but she was
married off anyway. However, she
converted her new husband to Christianity.
And both she and her husband were martyred for staying true to the
Lord. He was killed for giving proper
burials to Christians, and she was martyred for refusing to worship false
gods. But it wasn’t necessarily a sad
ending.
Instead, it’s more like our psalm today: “Lord, when your
glory appears, my joy will be full. I
shall be content in your presence.” St.
Cecilia, the mother in the Book of Maccabees, and all the martyrs had (and
continue to have) a hopeful end…because their ultimate hope is in the Lord. No matter how we pass from this world, may we
be like St. Cecilia, and go “with the song of God in our heart.” A song of faith, hope, and love.
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