Martyrs at Every Moment: One Step to Sanctity

Martyrdom is a polarizing thought. It is a proposal most cringe at while simultaneously viewing with great reverence, as there is no greater love or beauty than the sacrifice of all one has. Martyrdom is a banner that someone flies with their action saying; I am living for something, something greater than myself. For this reason, martyrdom is the greatest tool of evangelization. It gives witness to what one truly values as their highest possession – higher even than their life.

The Church teaches that upon death, martyrs instantly arrive in heaven, giving all they have in sacrifice to God and giving testament that they value nothing above God’s love. However, for most Christians, the prospect of having to give our life in witness to our faith is relatively nonexistent. Still, martyrdom is a genuine possibility and something that could potentially merit the very summit of union with God purchased by the blood of the martyrs.

Instead of a one-time death, this is a martyrdom at every moment—a martyrdom of our will instead of our body. This martyrdom is not dissimilar to Christ’s in the garden, saying to the Father not my will, but thy Will be done. This great sacrifice does not come without great reward. By substituting our will for God’s, we allow Him to work one of His greatest miracles; The resurrection of our human nature.

Knocking down the obstacle of our will apart from God.

The idea of our will being an obstacle isn’t always immediately evident. Most would think that the more we give in to our will, the happier we are, but this couldn’t be further from the truth as it causes most of the pain, anxiety, and dysfunction in our lives.

Again, this might seem crazy, but think about the last time you were angry or upset, and it most likely was because something happened differently than what you wanted or had expected. When reality acts contrary to our plans, it stings.

I can think of the last time I was angry, as it was just yesterday. I was called into work after working hard to finish everything that needed to be done early so I could spend the rest of the week with my family. Life dealt me different circumstances than I wanted to be dealt. One thing is sure; life goes awry from our plans more often than it goes in accordance with them. I knew this fact, yet I remained attached to what my will wanted. The result was pain, which could have been easily avoided and even converted into joy had I just looked for the good God was attempting to bring out of the situation -the blessing of money from being given more work or an opportunity to grow in patience, etc.

Think of all the times you’ve been anxious or worried about something. What was the source of that anxiety? Was it because you trusted that God allowed it to happen because your spiritual growth depended on it? Or was it because you were so attached to your idea of what the future was supposed to be that the slightest possibility of any deviation brought you mental anguish? 

How many times has the self-centered nature of our will led us to conflict with our loved ones? Our will, when removed from God’s will, is egocentric. It’s about us getting what we deserve-getting the well-deserved reward or break from the stressors we experience. When that path to achieving what we desire is interrupted, we often become bitter and resentful, even to the ones we love. I immediately think of my own situation. During my commute home after a long day of work, I often daydream about what I’ll do to blow off some steam. Typically, my family’s needs prevent that daydream from becoming a reality. When I refuse to resign myself to the fact that the calls of my vocation as a father should come before my desires for relaxation, my family and I both suffer.

I could go on about certain instances where reality diverged from what I wanted, and the result was irritation or anger, and I’m sure you could too. The point is that this attachment to what we want isn’t physically, psychologically, or spiritually healthy. It’s the source of all friction in our life. Imagine what life would be if we were of the disposition that whatever happened that we couldn’t change was only allowed because there was some benefit to us. Everything would be seen as a blessing because we would know that some silver lining interweaved into each life circumstance.

The first step to overcoming our own will is to surrender.

The initial pain we feel after deciding to grow in holiness results from the fact that holiness is contrary to our fallen nature. At first, it doesn’t feel good to go in accordance with God’s ways- it hurts. However, anyone who has dedicated a better portion of their life to union with God will tell you that, looking back, they can’t understand why letting go of their sin and pride was so hard because they’ve come to see the immense joy and bliss that’s present in the Will of God. 

The first step in seeing the bliss that God presents us in His will is surrender, which happens to be the hardest step. Anyone who has accomplished anything will tell you that the most challenging yet most important step is the first, as all magnificent feats and endeavors started with the simple decision that “it” was worth it.

The most beneficial aspect of surrender is that it takes tremendous humility. Without humility, God can’t bless us with anything! If we remained in our pride, every blessing we received from God would be attributed to ourselves because of our self-absorption. This would only further bring us misery and damnation. Humility is the foundation on which God builds because, without a solid foundation, everything that is built will collapse. God will not waste His time nor give us anything that hurts us.

By surrendering, we base ourselves on reality by saying, you know what, maybe I don’t know what’s best. Perhaps everything I try and force to go how my way ultimately brings more pain and anxiety. I should take the passenger seat for once and do my best to appreciate and make the most of the cards I’m dealt. With this attitude, God can work.

Now, there’s not much advice that can be given about surrender, as I’m a novice myself, other than just to do it. Ironically, the fact that there’s no advice is kind of the point. In surrender, we must humble ourselves and walk in faith through a very real spiritual desert. You can’t reason your way through it because our fallen nature will be telling us, ” NO! YOU KNOW WHAT’S BEST! YOU NEED TO FORCE WHAT YOU WANT, OR YOU’LL BE MISERABLE!” In the end, it is a matter of faith and trust, which is how God intends it to be.

Removing the burden of our own will.

After taking the necessary steps to surrender our will to God, we start to see God’s will take shape in our lives. A personal example of this is when I was beginning the job that I have now. My commute was over 160 miles round trip, and with California traffic, this took about 4 hours of my day.

My commute made me miserable and bitter, and I came home irritable and stressed almost daily. I was tired of this despair and started seeking ways to alleviate the stress, and nothing quite worked except internally telling myself that the commute was just something that had to be done and that I was going to allow God to make the most of it.

After this surrender, God began to use my commute to win over my heart, and I started to listen to homilies, theological lectures, and religious podcasts. All of these began to awaken a hunger in me for God and played a huge role in writing my ideas on these topics, as I am doing now.

The realization of what God had in store for me during my commute made my trust in Him grow exponentially. It made me come to terms with the fact that the distance between God and myself wasn’t caused by my circumstances- it was caused by me.

When we take that first step, which is the most difficult, God does not delay showing us what lies in His will. We begin to see how we have no clue what’s best for us. We still should strive for His Will instead of being entirely passive. Still, when it comes to unavoidable circumstances, we need to get out of the way by accepting them, thanking God, and offering our submission to what may seem uncomfortable so that God may bring about in us what He Wills.

This disposition is where we find Christ’s peace. It is trusting that whatever happens, no matter how uncomfortable it may be, It is allowed for our benefit, and if we remove the obstacle of ourselves, God will transform us through it. 

If this is our mentality, what could give us anxiety? What could we worry about if we know everything is happening according to plan? Imagine this resulting peace that transcends all by removing the burden of trying to run the show. So often, we unknowingly work against God’s will and try to think about what is most desirable or best for ourselves. This is why attaining holiness can seem so tricky- when we chart our own course, we complicate things. When we seek God’s will instead of our own, we begin to swim with the current. We start to move with our sails at full mast and effortlessly move with the wind of God’s plan for us.

A Life unified with the Will of God.

Living unified to the Will of God is incredibly simple, yet it can be excruciatingly painful, as each time we choose the Will of God instead of our own, our will experience a little death. However, in God’s wisdom and mercy, He sent His Son not only to die but to show us how to live.

If we consider Christ’s life, we observe that 30 years were filled with seemingly mundane acts. He worked as a carpenter; He ate, drank, cleaned, and cared for His mother. On the outside, it would see Christ was nothing unordinary; even His neighbors said essentially,  Isn’t this Josephs’s son? No way he’s a prophet! 

Jesus teaches us something extraordinary in this. He teaches us that it doesn’t matter how spectacular our acts are. What matters is what motivates our actions. Each thing Jesus did, no matter how small it was, was motivated by two things- the love of God and the love of man. Each step He took, word He spoke, and tedious chore He did was a divine act because He was performing the will of God. Each thing was supernatural action of the triune God working towards our redemption and divinization.

With Christ’s example, we can act in a completely different manner, a glorified manner entirely unified with God’s will- a divine manner. In this divine manner, Christ transforms each of our actions into an act of infinite love by uniting it to the works He accomplished in His humanity. 

As we begin to firmly grasp this realization of the possibility of our participation in Christ’s Humanity, we can start to see the value of even the most minor and most tedious things we do in our daily lives. Each moment becomes a possibility of a sacrifice that possesses infinite love, which is the sacrifice of our will to the Divine Will.

If we take advantage of this gift of God’s Will, we can begin to live how God intended. We will have no pain, anxiety, or disturbance because we see the value and blessing of every encounter. Imagine being given the grace to see doing the dishes as an opportunity to commune with God. Imagine when someone cuts us off, viewing it as an event allowed by God so that we can grow in love and patience. Imagine living in a world where we see EVERYTHING coming directly from the hand of God so that we might grow closer to him in some way or another. This is heaven on earth. This is living in the Will of God instead of the will of ourselves.

Life as a martyr at every moment.

Martyrdom is often seen as a daunting prospect, and understandably so. However, as explored in this article, martyrdom is not just about giving up our physical life for a cause or belief. It is also a call to sacrifice our own will and unite ourselves with the will of God, which brings about life as God intends.

By surrendering our will, we break free from our selfish desires and become more open to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, allowing us to live a more fulfilling, purposeful life free from the anxiety and stress that often accompany our plans.

Being a martyr to God’s will allows us to participate in the divine nature of Christ. As we allow God to work in us and transform us, we become more like Christ and experience a more profound sense of communion with Him. This leads to a life of peace, joy, and fulfillment that is not dependent on external circumstances but is rooted in our relationship with God.

The benefits of becoming a martyr to God’s will are infinite. This practice allows us to experience true freedom gained from participating in the Divine Nature of Christ while witnessing to others. So, let us strive to surrender our own will and unite ourselves with the Will of God, trusting that His plan for our lives is far greater than anything imaginable.