The following are some comments from Pope Benedict XVI during a recent general audience... [Note: Paragraphs have been combined below]
"Again, where is the strength to face martyrdom born? From a deep and intimate union with Christ, because martyrdom and the vocation to martyrdom are not the result of human effort, but the response to God’s initiative and call, they are a gift of His grace, which enables them to offer their lives for the love of Christ and the Church, and thus the world. If we read the lives of martyrs, we are amazed by their serenity and courage in suffering and death: God's power is fully manifest in the weakness, the poverty of those who entrust themselves to Him and place their hope in Him alone (cf. 2 Cor. 12:9). But it is important to note that the grace of God does not suppress or stifle the freedom of those facing martyrdom, but rather enriches and enhances it: the martyr is a supremely free person, free from the power of the world; a free person who in one final act gifts his entire life to God, and in a supreme act of faith, hope and charity, abandons himself in the hands of his Creator and Redeemer, sacrifices his life to totally become part of Christ's sacrifice on the Cross. In a word, martyrdom is a great act of love in response to God's immense love. Dear brothers and sisters, as I said last Wednesday, perhaps we are not called to martyrdom, but none of us are excluded from the divine call to holiness, to live the high standard of Christian life and that means taking the cross upon ourselves every day. Everyone, especially in our time when individualism and selfishness seem to prevail, must make our first and fundamental commitment that of growing every day in a greater love for God and for mankind"
Source: Vatican Radio
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