As his passion approached, Jesus told his disciples : "unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit" (Jn 12,24) and St Paul writes: "I will willingly boast of my weaknesses that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I am content with weakness, with mistreatment, with distress with persecutions and difficulties for the sake of Christ; for when I am powerless, it is then that I am strong" (2 Cor 12,9-10).
The Spirit leads the Church to the final victory through exterior and apparent weakness. It is precisely thanks to persecution that the disciples are dispersed and the Church spreads all over the region and then to the whole world. In fact from persecution we receive a light, this light is the certainty that the Spirit never leaves the Church alone, he is with her and makes her victorious and indestructible, so that she may complete what is lacking in the Passion of Christ (cfr 2 Col 1,24).
At the tomb of our martyrs we experience the glory of the Resurrection.
Also today, as we strive to build communion in the Church, all missionaries play an important part, especially those who gave their lives for the Gospel. Sons and daughters of the Church they are also called to be servants of the Church. With Saint Teresa of the Child Jesus, they cry "at the heart of the Church my mother I will be love, because Jesus has no need of our actions, all he desires is our love". They lived of the Church and for the Church, ready to give their life for the Church…how many Christians, seeing missionaries strong and faithful in persecution, kept their faith in the God of life and remained faithful followers of Jesus! This is the great mystery of communion! In Jesus Christ through the power of the Spirit we all share the same gift of strength!
This strength is not that of the herd, of the masses, it is the gift of the Spirit which strengthens and enriches all. (Fides Service 24/3/2003 EM lines 27 Words: 388)