First Martyrs of the Church of Rome

Historico - Liturgical Note

Christians always kept in memory the famous fire in Rome on July 16, in the year 64, and the subsequent martyrdom of a large numbers of Christians by Nero. We learn from Tacitus that some  were thrown to the wild beasts and others were burned at the stake as human torches. However, only the Roman Martyrology  mentions June 24 as the day for the feast. The Jerome Martyrology, on the other hand, mentions 979 martyrs on June 29, immediately after the eulogy in honour of St. Peter and St. Paul. This feast was extended to the entire city of Rome in 1923 but it was not celebrated  universally in the Church until 1969.

Message and Relevance

The significance of this feast is expressed in the Opening Prayer of the Mass, in which we ask God, who "sanctified the Church of Rome with the blood of the first martyrs," to help us "find strength from their courage and rejoice in their triumph." There has been an evolution  in the biblical concept of martyrdom. In Judaism martyrdom was an act of obedience to the Law, and there was a gradual development of hope in the resurrection. For Christians, however, martyrdom is understood in Christological context, because the eschatological power of God worka through the cross of Christ. The passion of Christ was in part the result of the violent opposition and hatred of satan, but at the same time his passion and death were oriented towards a glorious Resurrection. Christian martyrdom is in a sense a continuation  of the warfare that satan waged against Christ; at the same time it is a manifestation of the divine power that was victorious through the Cross ( 2 Cor 12 : 9). That is why martyrdom connotes the presence of the Spirit, who can overcome all human weakness. Through our fraternal devotion  to the martyrs we are confirmed in the faith because they are for us a sign of the spirit of God.

In addition to the Christological and Trinitarian aspects of Christian martyrdom, there is an ethical dimension. Here it becomes a weighty argument in favour of the truth of Christianity when we contemplate the heroic courage of the martyrs who are offered to us as examples. It is in this way that we "find strength in their courage and rejoice in their triumph" (Opening Prayer). The office of readings contains. an excerpt from St. Clement's letter to the Corinthians, written  between the years 96 and 98. After speaking of the martyrdom of Peter and Paul, he speaks of "a great throng  of the elect who gave us the finest example of endurance in the face of many indignities and tortures." He concludes: "we ought to put aside vain and useless concerns and go straight to the glorious and venerable norm which is our tradition, and we should consider what is good, pleasing and acceptable in the sight of him who made us. Let us fix our gaze on the blood of Christ, realizing how precious it is to his Father, since it was shed for our salvation and brought the grace of repentance to all the world."

These nameless men and women martyrs that we honour today are expiatory lambs of anti - Christian hatred. They represent all who suffered or are suffering religious persecution throughout the world.

Opening Prayer: Father, you sanctified the Church of Rome with the blood of its first martyrs. May we find strength from their courage and rejoice in their triumph.