The cloudy sky gave some relief from the hot June sun to the pilgrims who showed up in St. Peter's Square to listen to the pope's catechesis.
Pope Francis explained the meaning of martyrdom, recalling that it has nothing to do with those who commit suicide attacks.
POPE FRANCIS
'It is repugnant to Christians the idea that those who commit suicide bombings can be called martyrs. These are not martyrs. There is nothing in their mission that can resemble the attitude of the children of God.'
The pope recalled that martyrdom is not the supreme ideal of the Christian life. A martyrdom without charity and love, he said, would actually have no meaning.
POPE FRANCIS
'The martyrs do not live for themselves, they do not fight to affirm their own ideas, but they accept to die only for fidelity to the Gospel.'
A martyr, if he is a follower of Christ, imitates His poor and detached way of life. He pointed out that Jesus' disciples do not fight violence with violence, because evil cannot be fought with one's own weapons. At the same time, he recalled that there is another 'hidden' martyrdom, the one of a person who responsibly fulfills his daily obligations.
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