The Place Persecution Cannot Reach

In today’s homily, Fr. Tyler reflects on a truth revealed by the Vietnamese Martyrs—117 canonized, more than 300,000 known to God alone—who witnessed with their blood that no earthly power can touch the deepest sanctuary of the human person: the heart. Persecution may imprison the body, silence the voice, or press upon the mind, but it cannot force the interior surrender of one’s freedom. As the Catechism teaches, the heart is “the seat of moral decision,” the place where we choose for or against God.

Saint Andrew Dũng-Lạc and his companions lived this truth heroically. Arrested, tortured, ransomed, and arrested again, they remained interiorly free—joyful even—because their choice for Christ was rooted in the depths no chains could reach. Their witness echoes that of the Apostles singing hymns in prison, and above all, Christ Himself on the Cross. From His place of suffering, Jesus freely offered His life: “No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord” (John 10:18). His heart remained sovereign, forgiving His persecutors, entrusting Himself to the Father, and rising in glory.

Fr. Tyler reminds us that persecution in our own age may be subtler—cultural pressures, moral confusion, spiritual weariness—but the battleground is the same. Nothing in this world, no government, movement, or ideology, can make the choice of our heart for us. Every Christian must decide: Will I choose Christ today, especially when the cross becomes heavy? The Vietnamese martyrs, the Apostles, and the Lord Himself show that true freedom is found in fidelity, even in suffering. As the liturgical year draws to its close, the Gospel calls us to stay awake, to guard that sacred interior ground where God speaks and where love chooses Him in return.

May we, like the martyrs, give Christ our “yes” anew today, remaining faithful until the end when He leads us through death into eternal life.

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