Today the Society of Jesus remembers the lives and witnesses of a number of martyrs who died for the faith in England during a time of persecution under Queen Elizabeth I. St. Edmund was a convert from the Church of England, returning to his native England after time in France and elsewhere, having joined the Society of Jesus and studied for the priesthood. His mission was to minister to Catholics who still desired to practice the ancient faith in secret; it was not long before he was discovered, imprisoned, tried, and executed. St. Robert likewise ministered secretly to a Catholic family, doing the Lord’s work for nearly six years before the Queen’s top “priest hunter” captured one of the family’s daughters, tortured, and raped her until she confessed that they were hiding a priest. St. Robert was imprisoned for nearly three years before his execution; the crowd was so distraught at his execution that while he was hanging they pulled on his legs, hoping he would die before being drawn, disemboweled, and quartered.
The stories of the English martyrs are incredibly brutal, and particular glee was had in the execution of Jesuit priests; those who were found to be aiding priests did not fare much better. But these brothers and sisters of ours possessed a strength of faith we often find hard to believe, much less possess ourselves. But they do demonstrate the importance of our Gospel today, where Jesus teaches us to build our house on rock, rather than sand, that when our faith is challenged by the winds of persecution and the floods of challenge, we will stand strong, as they did. However we must build our faith upon the foundation of Christ, upon the truth of His Church’s teaching, for if we build our faith on anything else, on the opinions of mere men, on popular movements and theologies that have their time and then pass away, upon what will we stand when that faith is tried? When we look at history, when we look to those who have suffered for Christ, one thing is clear: those who built their faith on Him and His Church stood firm.