Fr. Pro walked from his cell to the courtyard and the firing squad, he blessed
the soldiers, knelt and briefly prayed quietly. Declining a blindfold, he faced
his executioners with a crucifix in one hand and a rosary in the other and held
his arms out in imitation of the crucified Christ and shouted out, "May God have
mercy on you! May God bless you! Lord, Thou knowest that I am innocent!
With all my heart I forgive my enemies!" Before the firing squad were
ordered to shoot, Pro raised his arms in imitation of Christ and shouted the
defiant cry of the Cristeros, "Viva Cristo Rey!" -"Long live Christ the King!". When the initial shots of the firing squad failed to kill him, a soldier shot him point blank.
On November 22, 1927, Blessed Miguel Pro was martyred at the age of 37. His love is a testimony to those who face persecution. I often wonder, in the face of martyrdom, would I have the grace to accept death. Or...would I deny our Lord like St. Peter did(three times). That seems so unlikely that a situation like that may present itself in this country of ours. In America, the martyrdom that we see more often is a kind of "white" martyrdom. We are pushed to the boundaries of our society because our refusal to give in to the spirit of the world. That is, an unbloody persecution of our faith. I find myself failing our Lord in this type of subjection,
so why would I think I would be faithful in an opportunity of "Red" martyrdom. My hope is not in my will power...it is not in my intellect...it is not in my wisdom. My hope is in God's Grace.
Blessed Miguel Pro wrote:
Neither suffering nor serious illness, neither the exhausting ministerial
activity, frequently carried out in difficult and dangerous circumstances,
could stifle the radiating and contagious joy which he brought to his life
for Christ and which nothing could take away. Indeed, the deepest root of
self-sacrificing surrender for the lowly was his passionate love for Jesus
Christ and his ardent desire to be conformed to him, even unto death.
As the feast of Christus Rex (Christ the King) approaches (Nov. 23), let the words of Blessed Pro echo in our minds. Being a martyr (def:Witness) does not require death, it requires remaining faithful (being a witness) in times of persecution. If we face any type of persecution in our life, exclaim:
"Viva Cristo Rey!"-"Long Live Christ the King"
