Feast of Chinese Martyrs

China has a deep rooted culture of her own. She has her own language, her own religions and philosophy. She even absorbs and transforms Indian Buddhism into Chinese Buddhism and spreads it to the Far East and South East Asia. Therefore, it is not easy for Christianity to incarnate in the Chinese soil. God intends salvation for all, including Chinese. Therefore, the incarnation of Christianity in China has been a real challenge for missionaries for more than four centuries. If the Jews had killed Jesus and persecuted Jewish Christians, we Chinese have a fair share of martyrs as well and today, we celebrate the Feast of Chinese Martyrs who had laid down their lives for the love of Christ. Now that the relation between the Chinese government and Vatican is improving, we pray that our fellow men may partake this salvation and be counted children of God.
Today, we read Romans 8:35-39. It is a lovely manifesto for Christians undergoing persecution.
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? (Romans 8:35)
The love of Christ sustains us and enables us to endure hardship of all sorts.
Paul then quoted Psalms 44 which cries out to God for help. Once again, he quoted verbatim from the Septuagint instead of translating it himself.
As it is written, "For thy sake we are being killed all the day long;
we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered."
καθὼς γέγραπται
ὅτι ἕνεκεν σοῦ θανατούμεθα ὅλην τὴν ἡμέραν,
ἐλογίσθημεν ὡς πρόβατα σφαγῆς. (Romans 8:36)
ὅτι ἕνεκα σοῦ θανατούμεθα ὅλην τὴν ἡμέραν,
ἐλογίσθημεν ὡς πρόβατα σφαγῆς. (Ps 44:23 BHS, Ps 43:23 LXX)
We understand that our sufferings are meaningful. We share the Passion of Christ which brings salvation for all. Our sufferings are redemptive as well. Therefore, we embrace sufferings, be they illness, depression, poverty, persecution, disgrace, loss of loved ones and even death. Jesus himself went through these out of his love for all men. His love will see us through. We count ourselves blessed to suffer for Christ.
Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.
Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so men persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matthew 5:11-12)

My dear Advocate, I am not the stuff of a martyr. Yet, may my sufferings be peace sacrifices acceptable to You. I am no hero. Yet, I pray for my children and my students. May they benefit from the hardship we go through for them. All the Chinese saints and blessed martyrs, pray that the preaching of Christianity may enjoy greater freedom without hindrance in our motherland. Amen.