1 Corinthians 15:12-20; Psalm 16(17):1,6-8,15; Luke 8:1-3
The martyrs numbered 10,000 in less than a hundred years. Most were laypeople. Some were catechists, others noblemen, still others housewives. One boy, Peter, whose flesh was so torn he could throw pieces of it at his torturers, was thirteen. A woman, Columba, was asked before she was tortured why she and her sisters did not marry. She answered, “In order to cherish our body and heart in all purity, to serve and worship God….” They knew the honor of bearing the name of Christian.
There was a fire in the hearts of these courageous believers. It was passed on person to person, heart to heart, and it continues burning: South Korea boasts the fastest growing Catholic population in the world. In 1984, Pope John Paul II canonized Fr. Andrew Kim, Paul Chong, and 101 of their companion martyrs.