They stripped him and stabbed him countless times then crushed his fingers and burned his side with a flaming torch. They tied a rope around his head and almost crushed it. They cut off his nose and ears and tied his hands behind his back. Then they hanged him upside down and severely paddled him twice in the head. Finally, they ditched him in a sewer where he stayed alive for twenty more hours. This was how St. Stephen Pongrácz suffered and died in the hands of the Calvinists in Kosicie (now in Slovakia).

Can I bear such pain? I cannot even tolerate a small cut on my finger much less have my ears and nose cut. To be honest, I cannot even answer if I am willing to suffer and die for my faith. To surrender and give up one’s life is easier said than done.

I do not want to suffer. I do not want to be a martyr. I want to live a life of ease and convenience.

But not standing by our faith–isn’t this also a type of suffering? When we do not heed Christ’s call, we doom ourselves to a life of emptiness. And when we waste our lives in pursuits that will only fade away, what can be a greater suffering than that?

I have always equated martyrdom with physical pain and bodily death. But martyrdom is much more. Christian martyrdom involves dying to one’s self. This may not always be like the violent death of St. Stephen Pongrácz. It is a dying that is less dramatic but not less difficult.

We do not need to undergo physical death in order for us to be martyrs. To be a martyr is to be a witness to one’s faith. All Catholics are called to be martyrs. Our Catholic faith calls us to love as Jesus loves, to be merciful for Christ is merciful, and to be holy as our heavenly Father is holy. Struggling to answer this call is also martyrdom.

As the reality of Christian martyrdom confronts me, I feel ashamed of myself as a Catholic. I easily fall into temptation. I find myself setting aside my prayer time for other activities. I prioritize my own enjoyment over more substantial things.

How can we be martyrs? We can start by obeying our parents and following traffic rules. We can also start by going to confession at least once a year and going to Sunday Mass on time. These may seem simple enough, but as we do these, we grow in strength to tackle more difficult opportunities to witness to our faith.

Martyrs don’t have to die. Modern martyrs live that others may know how to live.

St. Stephen Pongrácz, pray for us that we, too, may be martyrs today.