Posted on 02/06/2003 5:18:16 PM PST by Lady In Blue
Let us first introduce the main characters in the play. The one to pass sentence on the martyrs is Toyotomi Hideyoshi, better known as Taikosama, absolute ruler of Japan and living at Osaka Castle. On Nishizaka Hill, Terazawa Hazaburo, brother of the governor of Nagasaki, performs the execution. Leading actors in this drama are the 26 men doomed to die, worn out after a grueling thirty day march. And with them, sharing the tension of their last hours, the common folk of Nagasaki Jesuit missionaries and Spanish seamen, traders from Macao, soldiers, executioners.
It is ten o'clock in the morning. The place, the high-way to Tokitsu and Omura, next tn the gate of Nagasaki. All around us the surging crowds, a swelling rumble of distant thunder, tense with uneasiness and expectation.
Mt. Mubonzan or Kompira as it is called today -- towers over Nagasaki City. coming down to meet her in a descending pattern of undulating hills. Nishizaka the lowest hill resembled a galleon's prow jutting into Nagasaki Bay.
The road to Omura cut right through the hill. On that day the traveler from Nagasaki could see a field of wheat on his left. Part of the hill was facing the city and Nagasaki Bay, the other looked out on a murky place, a ravine scattered with human remains, a haunt for wild dogs and birds of prey. Common criminals were executed there.
It was in such a place that the martyrs' crosses had been hoisted but some influential Portuguese prevailed on Terazawa Hazaburo, the Governor's brother not to deal with the martyrs as common criminals and suggested the field of wheat on the other side of the road as a better place for execution. Ierazawa Hazaburo was happy to oblige.
Terazawa was already there waiting for the 26 condemned to die. It was a painful task to perform. One of the martyrs Paul Miki was a close friend of his and he had often listened to his sermons. These men were guilty of no crime. and Terazawa Hazaburo knew it. Therefore much as he was afraid of Taikosama, he was willing to make concessions on minor points. One of them was to allow two Jesuits, Frs. Pasio and Rodriguez, to minister to the martyrs.
It was half past ten when the long procession finally reached Nishizaka. First, an escort of soldiers pushing their way through the waiting crowds After them, the martyrs, divided into three groups each of the headed by Franciscans saying the rosary. They had been walking all the way from Urakami. the old road is still in use at some places. their hands tightly bound, their feet leaving a trail of blood along the road.
Let us have a close look at them. They had their left ears cut off a month ago, just before leaving Kyoto. It has been a long Way of the cross, renewed every morning, in the heart of winter, a month of spiritual growth. All along the way, the wind in the pine-trees has been suggesting the old chant of the psalm: " He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing. lt. is true. They have been sowing the seed of the gospel all the way from Kyoto. Sowing it with their mouths, which could never be chained. with their meekness of heart when blessing their torturers, with their songs of praise to God while struggling forward through the snow. A glance is enough to show that they are neither criminals nor traitors. The are only sowers.
A few witnesses will help us to recreate the scene. FR. Francis Blanco was bleeding from his left ear. Fr. Peter Bautista kept on walking with vigorous steps, eager to reach Golgotha. He did not seem even to notice the wounds in his feet. Br Philip of Jesus looked pale and emaciated.
A few onlookers managed to come near the martyrs and exchange a few words with them. Somebody asked Br. Francis of St. Michael for his rosary as a momento. The good Brother could only apologize : "Sorry, wait a little more. I have not finished yet."
Francis Rodriguez Pinto, a Portuguese born in India, was greeted by Br. Gonzalo Garcia with these words: "My good friend, God be with you. I'm going to heaven. A hearty hug to Fr. Sebastian Gonzalez on my behalf."
The emaciated face of Br. Philip of Jesus broke into a smile. With a touch of humour he tried to comfort one of his friends: "The galleon San Felipe was lost so that Friar Philip may be saved."
The martyrs know that each has his own cross, because they have been made to measure. Fr. Ganzalo, the first to arrive, goes straight to one of the crosses: "Is this mine?" It is not. Taken to another cross, he kneels down and embraces it. The other one after another, start doing the same. "That is quite a sight, the way Br. Philip was embracing his cross..." comments one of the witnesses.
The 26 crosses were already on the ground, a carpet of light green blades of wheat appearing above the surface of the ground. They had been neatly sawn and tailored. Most of them were over two metres high, with two cross-pieces and a prop where the victim would sit astride.
After the arrival of the last martyr, the escort joined the other guards, trying to keep the crowds at a distance. One by one the prisoners were fixed to the poles. No nails were used. Hands and feet and neck were kept in position with iron rings and a rope around the waist kept the victim tightly bound to the cross. For Fr. Peter Bautista, iron rings would not be enough. "Nail them down, brother," he asked the executioner, stretching out his hands.
Fixing Paul Miki to the cross proved to be unexpectedly difficult. The Japanese Jesuit was too short and his feet would not reach the lower rings. Under the pressure of time, the executioner had to do without the rings, and strapped Miki`s chest to the cross with a piece of linen. When he stepped on the martyr to tighten up the knot, a missionary standing in the crowd could not help himself. "Let him do his job, Father - the martyr said assaugingly - it does not really hurt."
Once the martyrs had been tied to the crosses, all twenty-six were lifted simultaneously. A sudden thump dropped them into the waiting holes, sending a shock of pain through the victims bodies.
More to come Read about the words of faith these brave men spoke up to the moment of there death.
BTTT on the Memorial of St. Paul Miki and companions, February 6, 2007!
| From an account of the martyrdom of Saint Paul Miki and his companions, by a contemporary writer | |
|---|---|
| You shall be my witnesses | |
| The crosses were set in place. Father Pasio and Father Rodriguez took turns encouraging the victims. Their steadfast behaviour was wonderful to see. The Father Bursar stood motionless, his eyes turned heavenward. Brother Martin gave thanks to God’s goodness by singing psalms. Again and again he repeated: “Into your hands, Lord, I entrust my life”. Brother Francis Branco also thanked God in a loud voice. Brother Gonsalvo in a very loud voice kept saying the Our Father and Hail Mary. Our brother, Paul Miki, saw himself standing now in the noblest pulpit he had ever filled. To his “congregation” he began by proclaiming himself a Japanese and a Jesuit. He was dying for the Gospel he preached. He gave thanks to God for this wonderful blessing and he ended his “sermon” with these words: “As I come to this supreme moment of my life, I am sure none of you would suppose I want to deceive you. And so I tell you plainly: there is no way to be saved except the Christian way. My religion teaches me to pardon my enemies and all who have offended me. I do gladly pardon the Emperor and all who have sought my death. I beg them to seek baptism and be Christians themselves”. Then he looked at his comrades and began to encourage them in their final struggle. Joy glowed in all their faces, and in Louis’ most of all. When a Christian in the crowd cried out to him that he would soon be in heaven, his hands, his whole body strained upward with such joy that every eye was fixed on him. Anthony, hanging at Louis’ side, looked toward heaven and called upon the holy names – “Jesus, Mary!” He began to sing a psalm: “Praise the Lord, you children!” (He learned it in catechism class in Nagasaki. They take care there to teach the children some psalms to help them learn their catechism). Others kept repeating “Jesus, Mary!” Their faces were serene. Some of them even took to urging the people standing by to live worthy Christian lives. In these and other ways they showed their readiness to die. Then, according to Japanese custom, the four executioners began to unsheathe their spears. At this dreadful sight, all the Christians cried out, “Jesus, Mary!” And the storm of anguished weeping then rose to batter the very skies. The executioners killed them one by one. One thrust of the spear, then a second blow. It was over in a very short time. |
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S, I know you didn't write that, but the record needs to be set straight:
The attack on Nagasaki killed 39,000 people and injured another 25,000 out of a total population of 195,000. Casualties in Hiroshima were just more than double that out of a population about 25% greater.
Saint Paul Miki, Priest & Martyr
and his companions, martyrs
Memorial
February 6th
Unknown artist
The Martyrs of Nagasaki
In 1597 Saint Paul Miki and twenty-six companions, who had been converted to Christianity by the great Jesuit missionary, Saint Francis Xavier, were martyred by crucifixion in Nagasaki, Japan.
See The Nagasaki Martyrs, by James Hitchcock.
Collect:
God our Father, source of strength for all Your saints,
You led Paul Miki and his companions through the suffering of the cross to the joy of eternal life.
May their prayers give us the courage to be loyal until death in professing our faith.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. +Amen.
First Reading: Galatians 2:19-20
For I through the law died to the law, that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
Gospel Reading:Matthew 28:16-20
Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw Him they worshipped Him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age."
Related Page: The Twenty-six Martyrs of Nagasaki -- by Joanna Bogle, Voices, Michaelmas 2007
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