The Good Soil of Martyrdom

1Tim 6:13-16, Psalm: 99, Lk 8:4-15

Memorial of Saints Andrew Kim Tae-gŏn, Priest, and Paul Chŏng Ha-sang, and Companions, Martyrs

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ, on this memorial of the Korean Martyrs, Saints Andrew Kim Tae-gŏn, Paul Chŏng Ha-sang, and their companions, the Word of God speaks with one voice about the cost and glory of faithfulness. It reveals that the Christian life is a solemn charge to guard the truth and that the fruitfulness of our faith depends entirely on the quality of our hearts.

Saint Paul, writing to Timothy from the shadow of his own impending martyrdom, delivers a charge of breathtaking solemnity: “I charge you before God, who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus… to keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ.” This is no mere suggestion. It is a military-style command issued before the ultimate witnesses: the Creator of life and the King of kings. Our faith is a sacred trust, a “commandment” of love and truth that we are to guard faithfully amidst the pressures of the world, until the day we see the Blessed One, the only Sovereign, face to face.

This call to unwavering perseverance finds its perfect illustration in the Parable of the Sower from Luke’s Gospel. The seed is the same—the abundant, life-giving Word of God. The variable is the soil—the condition of the human heart. The path, the rocky ground, and the thorns represent the perils of distraction, superficiality, and worldly anxiety that choke the Word and prevent it from bearing fruit.

But then there is the rich soil. This is the heart that hears the Word, “clings to it with a generous and good heart,” and bears fruit through perseverance. This is the heart of a martyr.

The Korean martyrs we honor today were that rich soil. They received the seed of faith not from missionaries, but from lay catechists. They nurtured it through incredible persecution. For them, “keeping the commandment without stain or reproach” meant risking everything. Saint Andrew Kim Tae-gŏn, the first Korean-born priest, was martyred for his ministry. Saint Paul Chŏng Ha-sang, a layman, was tortured and killed for defending the faith before the royal court. They and countless others—parents, children, nobles, and servants—chose the eternal sovereignty of Christ over the temporary safety offered by this world. Their perseverance yielded a hundredfold harvest: the vibrant Church in Korea, sown not by professional missionaries, but by the blood of its own children.

Their witness speaks directly to us. We may not face the sword, but we face the constant threat of the path, the rocks, and the thorns. The distraction of digital noise, the shallow pursuit of comfort that roots our faith in rock, the thorny anxieties of wealth and daily life—all threaten to choke the Word within us.

The martyrs call us to till the soil of our own hearts. They ask us: What am I allowing to make my heart shallow? What worldly cares are choking my spiritual life? We are charged, before God, to actively protect our faith, to cling to the Word through daily prayer and the Sacraments, and to persevere in generosity.

As Pope Saint John Paul II said at their canonization, “The Korean Martyrs have borne witness to the crucified and risen Christ… Through their sacrifice, the seed of the Church was watered and grew strong.”

May their heroic perseverance inspire us to be that rich, good soil. May we, in our daily struggles, guard the sacred deposit of faith, so that our lives may also yield an abundant harvest for the Kingdom of God. Amen.