Send CathInfo's owner Matthew a gift from his Amazon wish list:
https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/25M2B8RERL1UO

« previous next »
Pages: [1] 2

Author Topic: Three conditions required for a Catholic Martyrdom  (Read 1398 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline Incredulous

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 8901
  • Reputation: +8675/-849
  • Gender: Male
Three conditions required for a Catholic Martyrdom
« on: February 11, 2019, 12:40:38 AM »
  • Thanks!0
  • No Thanks!0


    • Definition of martyrdom
    The great moral theologian, Dominic Prummer O.P., says:

    Quote
    Acts of Fortitude. . . . these acts reach their peak in martyrdom. Martyrdom is the endurance of bodily death in witness to the Christian religion. Therefore three conditions must be verified for martyrdom:

    a) actual death;
    b) the infliction of death by an enemy out of hatred for Christianity.
    c) the voluntary acceptance of death.

    Therefore the following are not genuinely martyrs: those who die by contracting disease in their care of lepers, those who suffer death for natural truths or for heresy, or who [indirectly] bring about their own death to safeguard their person. — The effect of martyrdom is the remission of all sin and punishment, since it is an act of perfect charity.
    According to Christian doctrine, martyrdom renders the soul of the martyr worthy of immediate entrance into heaven. The Church prays to the martyrs but has never prayed for the martyrs.
    Logged
    "Some preachers will keep silence about the truth, and others will trample it underfoot and deny it. Sanctity of life will be held in derision even by those who outwardly profess it, for in those days Our Lord Jesus Christ will send them not a true Pastor but a destroyer."  St. Francis of Assisi

    Offline forlorn

    • Sr. Member
    • ****
    • Posts: 2449
    • Reputation: +964/-1098
    • Gender: Male
    Re: Three conditions required for a Catholic Martyrdom
    « Reply #1 on: February 11, 2019, 11:30:25 AM »
  • Thanks!0
  • No Thanks!1
    • At what point does martyrdom become ѕυιcιdє? E.g: Joe is suicidal but doesn't want to be damned so he heads into ISIS territory knowing they'll martyr him. Is that still martyrdom, or would it be treated as a ѕυιcιdє since he knowingly chose to go die? 
    Logged

    Offline Cantarella

    • Hero Member
    • *****
    • Posts: 7782
    • Reputation: +4577/-579
    • Gender: Female
    Re: Three conditions required for a Catholic Martyrdom
    « Reply #2 on: February 11, 2019, 01:13:01 PM »
  • Thanks!0
  • No Thanks!0
    • There exists a law of the Church which forbids anyone to actively seek martyrdom. The Church does not encourage ѕυιcιdє in any way, even what you may consider a "pious ѕυιcιdє". One who engages in such behavior would be comitting a mortal sin against the 5th commandment.

    Quote
    "In truth every act that exceeds human strength (referring here to martyrdom) is an act of presumption unless it be the result of a special inspiration, and the Church approves it only if she recognizes this divine impulse which alone can authorize a deviation from the general rule"  

    ( From the book Light & Peace by R.P Quadrupani, Barnanite, 1795. Imprimatur 1904)
    Logged
    If anyone says that true and natural water is not necessary for baptism and thus twists into some metaphor the words of our Lord Jesus Christ" Unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Spirit" (Jn 3:5) let him be anathema.

    Offline Cantarella

    • Hero Member
    • *****
    • Posts: 7782
    • Reputation: +4577/-579
    • Gender: Female
    Re: Three conditions required for a Catholic Martyrdom
    « Reply #3 on: February 11, 2019, 01:20:12 PM »
  • Thanks!1
  • No Thanks!0
    • Quote
    Therefore three conditions must be verified for martyrdom: 

    a) actual death; 
    b) the infliction of death by an enemy out of hatred for Christianity. 
    c) the voluntary acceptance of death.

    Notice that b) and c) are missing in the case of aborted babies.
    Logged
    If anyone says that true and natural water is not necessary for baptism and thus twists into some metaphor the words of our Lord Jesus Christ" Unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Spirit" (Jn 3:5) let him be anathema.

    Offline Judith 15 Ten

    • Newbie
    • *
    • Posts: 130
    • Reputation: +72/-252
    • Gender: Male
    Re: Three conditions required for a Catholic Martyrdom
    « Reply #4 on: February 11, 2019, 03:26:16 PM »
  • Thanks!0
  • No Thanks!0
    • If a Catholic physically resists a violent assault motivated by hatred for Catholics and the Faith and with the intent to kill the victim, and that Catholic dies in the process, is he a martyr? Or is martyrdom only for the passive Catholic (but not actively seeking it as that would be a form of ѕυιcιdє like Cantarella pointed out)?
    Logged
    Who is she that cometh forth as the morning rising, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, terrible as an army set in array? ~ Canticle of Canticles 6:9

    Online Cera

    • Hero Member
    • *****
    • Posts: 5208
    • Reputation: +2290/-1012
    • Gender: Female
    • Pray for the consecration of Russia to Mary's I H
    Re: Three conditions required for a Catholic Martyrdom
    « Reply #5 on: February 11, 2019, 03:40:46 PM »
  • Thanks!0
  • No Thanks!1
    • What is white martyrdom?
    Logged
    Pray for the consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary

    Offline Motorede

    • Jr. Member
    • **
    • Posts: 333
    • Reputation: +192/-41
    • Gender: Male
    Re: Three conditions required for a Catholic Martyrdom
    « Reply #6 on: February 11, 2019, 03:44:31 PM »
  • Thanks!0
  • No Thanks!0
    • Quote from: Cantarella on February 11, 2019, 01:20:12 PM
    Notice that b) and c) are missing in the case of aborted babies.
    Please explain the Holy Innocents, Mm. regarding c)
    Logged

    Offline Judith 15 Ten

    • Newbie
    • *
    • Posts: 130
    • Reputation: +72/-252
    • Gender: Male
    Re: Three conditions required for a Catholic Martyrdom
    « Reply #7 on: February 11, 2019, 03:54:02 PM »
  • Thanks!0
  • No Thanks!0
    • Quote from: Judith 15 Ten on February 11, 2019, 03:26:16 PM
    If a Catholic physically resists a violent assault motivated by hatred for Catholics and the Faith and with the intent to kill the victim, and that Catholic dies in the process, is he a martyr? Or is martyrdom only for the passive Catholic (but not actively seeking it as that would be a form of ѕυιcιdє like Cantarella pointed out)?

    I always thought that any Holy Crusader who died fighting the Turkroaches were martyred for their Faith and defending Christendom. Is this correct or wrong?
    Logged
    Who is she that cometh forth as the morning rising, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, terrible as an army set in array? ~ Canticle of Canticles 6:9

    Offline Cantarella

    • Hero Member
    • *****
    • Posts: 7782
    • Reputation: +4577/-579
    • Gender: Female
    Re: Three conditions required for a Catholic Martyrdom
    « Reply #8 on: February 11, 2019, 04:24:22 PM »
  • Thanks!0
  • No Thanks!0
    • Quote from: Motorede on February 11, 2019, 03:44:31 PM
    Please explain the Holy Innocents, Mm. regarding c)

    Well, first the Holy Innocents died under a different Law of salvation. Second, they died not only for Christ, but in his stead. Third, it is very probable that the OP theologian is citing here the requisites for martyrdom for the adult. In the case of children under the age of reason, b) would be the definitive, I believe.  This means that for them to be considered martyrs by the Church, they must have been slaughtered for the sake of Christ by an enemy out of hatred for Christianity.
    Logged
    If anyone says that true and natural water is not necessary for baptism and thus twists into some metaphor the words of our Lord Jesus Christ" Unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Spirit" (Jn 3:5) let him be anathema.

    Offline forlorn

    • Sr. Member
    • ****
    • Posts: 2449
    • Reputation: +964/-1098
    • Gender: Male
    Re: Three conditions required for a Catholic Martyrdom
    « Reply #9 on: February 11, 2019, 04:40:58 PM »
  • Thanks!0
  • No Thanks!0
    • Quote from: Judith 15 Ten on February 11, 2019, 03:54:02 PM
    I always thought that any Holy Crusader who died fighting the Turkroaches were martyred for their Faith and defending Christendom. Is this correct or wrong?
    I don't think soldiers are generally regarded as martyrs, but weren't Crusaders promised salvation or something? The Crusades might've been a special case. 
    Logged

    Offline Incredulous

    • Hero Member
    • *****
    • Posts: 8901
    • Reputation: +8675/-849
    • Gender: Male
    Re: Three conditions required for a Catholic Martyrdom
    « Reply #10 on: February 11, 2019, 04:43:06 PM »
  • Thanks!0
  • No Thanks!0
    • Quote from: Cera on February 11, 2019, 03:40:46 PM
    What is white martyrdom?
    A severe humiliation and suppression to the point of being isolated for the Faith.
    Logged
    "Some preachers will keep silence about the truth, and others will trample it underfoot and deny it. Sanctity of life will be held in derision even by those who outwardly profess it, for in those days Our Lord Jesus Christ will send them not a true Pastor but a destroyer."  St. Francis of Assisi

    Offline Ladislaus

    • Supporter
    • *****
    • Posts: 41846
    • Reputation: +23909/-4344
    • Gender: Male
    Re: Three conditions required for a Catholic Martyrdom
    « Reply #11 on: February 11, 2019, 05:48:55 PM »
  • Thanks!0
  • No Thanks!0
    • Quote from: forlorn on February 11, 2019, 04:40:58 PM
    I don't think soldiers are generally regarded as martyrs, but weren't Crusaders promised salvation or something? The Crusades might've been a special case.

    They're a borderline case, I think.  It's certainly the case that the Muslims and Saracens were killing them precisely because they were Christian, at least in the broader context, although proximately it was largely kill or be killed fighting.
    Logged

    Offline Ladislaus

    • Supporter
    • *****
    • Posts: 41846
    • Reputation: +23909/-4344
    • Gender: Male
    Re: Three conditions required for a Catholic Martyrdom
    « Reply #12 on: February 11, 2019, 05:59:29 PM »
  • Thanks!0
  • No Thanks!0
    • Quote from: Judith 15 Ten on February 11, 2019, 03:54:02 PM
    I always thought that any Holy Crusader who died fighting the Turkroaches were martyred for their Faith and defending Christendom. Is this correct or wrong?

    As I said in my previous post, I think that it's a borderline case.  In the larger context, he was losing his life for the faith, but in the heat of battle, the Muslim/Saracen might have been acting in little more than a desire for self-preservation.  I'm sure that some of the guys on the other side were conscripted and had little choice and may not have wanted to be there at all, but would kill the Christian soldiers to keep themselves alive.  So it's a little gray in my mind.
    Logged

    Offline songbird

    • Hero Member
    • *****
    • Posts: 4670
    • Reputation: +1765/-353
    • Gender: Female
    Re: Three conditions required for a Catholic Martyrdom
    « Reply #13 on: February 11, 2019, 06:39:44 PM »
  • Thanks!1
  • No Thanks!0
    • Holy Innocents: their deaths are described in 2nd volume of the City of God.  The babes were given reason so that they were martyrs for Christ.
    Logged

    Offline Ladislaus

    • Supporter
    • *****
    • Posts: 41846
    • Reputation: +23909/-4344
    • Gender: Male
    Re: Three conditions required for a Catholic Martyrdom
    « Reply #14 on: February 11, 2019, 07:16:40 PM »
  • Thanks!0
  • No Thanks!0
    • Quote from: songbird on February 11, 2019, 06:39:44 PM
    Holy Innocents: their deaths are described in 2nd volume of the City of God.  The babes were given reason so that they were martyrs for Christ.

    That's an interesting perspective.
    Logged
    Pages: [1] 2
    « previous next »