454. Jesus was born to give witness to the truth.

YOUCAT Catechism + Catechism of the Catholic Church Lesson 454

Ave Maria series

How strongly obligatory is the truth of the faith?

Every Christian must give testimony to the truth and thereby follow after Christ, who before Pilate said, “For this I was born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth” (John 18:37).  [2472-2474]

The Stoning of Saint Stephen.…..454

This can even mean that a Christian lays down his life out of fidelity to the truth and love for God and mankind.  This ultimate form of commitment to the truth is called martyrdom.

“Live in such a way that you can die tomorrow as a martyr.”  --Charles de Foucauld (he himself suffered martyrdom in 1916)

Martyr (from Greek martyria=witness, testimony): A Christian martyr is a person who is ready to suffer violence or even to be killed for Christ, who is the truth, or for a conscientious decision made on the basis of faith.  This is precisely the opposite of Islamist suicide assassins.  They do violence to themselves and others out of misinterpreted faith convictions and are therefore honored by radical Islamists as “martyrs”.

The deacon Stephen was the first Christian martyr.  On account of his commitment to the truth of the Gospel, he was stoned to death outside the gates of the city of Jerusalem between the years A.D. 36 and 40.                   

[2472-2474]

TO BEAR WITNESS TO THE TRUTH

2472 The duty of Christians to take part in the life of the Church impels them to act as witnesses of the Gospel and of the obligations that flow from it. This witness is a transmission of the faith in words and deeds. Witness is an act of justice that establishes the truth or makes it known.(Compare Matthew 18:16.)^{269–Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition}

All Christians by the example of their lives and the witness of their word, wherever they live, have an obligation to manifest the new man which they have put on in Baptism and to reveal the power of the Holy Spirit by whom they were strengthened at Confirmation.(Ad Gentes 11) ²⁷⁰–CCC

2473 Martyrdom is the supreme witness given to the truth of the faith: it means bearing witness even unto death. The martyr bears witness to Christ who died and rose, to whom he is united by charity. He bears witness to the truth of the faith and of Christian doctrine. He endures death through an act of fortitude. "Let me become the food of the beasts, through whom it will be given me to reach God."(St. Ignatius of Antioch, Ad Rom. 4,1:Sources Chretiennes 10,110.)²⁷¹–CCC

2474 The Church has painstakingly collected the records of those who persevered to the end in witnessing to their faith. These are the acts of the Martyrs. They form the archives of truth written in letters of blood:--CCC

Neither the pleasures of the world nor the kingdoms of this age will be of any use to me. It is better for me to die [in order to unite myself] to Christ Jesus than to reign over the ends of the earth. I seek him who died for us; I desire him who rose for us. My birth is approaching. . .(St. Ignatius of Antioch, Ad Rom. 6,1-2:SCh 10,114.)²⁷²–CCC

I bless you for having judged me worthy from this day and this hour to be counted among your martyrs. . . . You have kept your promise, God of faithfulness and truth. For this reason and for everything, I praise you, I bless you, I glorify you through the eternal and heavenly High Priest, Jesus Christ, your beloved Son. Through him, who is with you and the Holy Spirit, may glory be given to you, now and in the ages to come. Amen.(Martyrium Polycarpi 14,2-3:Patrologia Graeca 5,1040; Sources Chretiennes 10,228)²⁷³–CCC

Saint  Stephen stoning  w/Saul