The Mass that formed a martyr

Not many have heard of Blessed Franz Jägerstätter, an Austrian farmer, who was martyred for his faith in 1943.  He joined a large cohort of saints who would not sacrifice their conscience and their faith to something or someone else. He refused to take an oath to Adolf Hitler. To do contradicted his faith. He paid the price at the guillotine on 9 August1943. In the Vatican biography of his life (here) it recounts that he stated shortly before his execution:

But I cannot believe that, just because one has a wife and children, a man is free to offend God.

This line very much echoes the witness of St Thomas More who was executed four centuries before.  Throughout the twentieth century many Catholics, including some church leaders, regarded certain right-wing movements and governments as a lesser danger than communism. This sometimes led to accommodation, misjudgement or silence in the face of terrible injustice and atrocities.

While the Church did condemn (belatedly and with relative restrain) Nazism, many leaders and lay people showed enormous and even supernatural courage in refusing to bow to Nazism. 

The Church hierarchy was right to oppose both nazism and communism and to do so forcibly especially in the case of the latter (and regrettably not so much in the case of nazism until it was too late).  However, in our time as societies come under increased pressure from political extremism including racism and violent supremacist ideologies, Catholics have a duty to speak out and, if necessary, peacefully put themselves in the way of danger to oppose evil.  Perhaps we will not be called to give of our life but we ought to treasure our faith and our conscience and if that means facing death so be it.

Blessed Franz drew strength and courage from frequent participation in the Mass and deep devotion to the Eucharist. In receiving Christ each day before his arrest, he found the grace to remain faithful when almost everyone around him urged compromise. His witness reminds us that courage is not born merely of strong conviction, but of a life rooted in prayer, sacramental grace and obedience to God.