Today we celebrate the Feast of St. Andrew Kim and his companions. St Andrew Kim, along with over 100 other Catholics were martyred between 1839 and 1867 in Korea.
The Catholic Church has a storied past with Asian culture. It's a fascinating history and involves great saints like Andrew Kim, Paul Hasang, and Francis Xavier.
Jesus' mandate to his apostles to preach the Gospel to all nations led some of them, most of them actually, to their death. And yet, as the early Church Father Tertullian (2nd century) said, "the blood of martyrs is the seed of the Church." Following the death of St. Andrew Kim and his companions, the Church in Korea, and in other places where native Catholics had been martyred, began to flourish.
On the other side of death, is always Life.
If you're interested in learning more about the integration of Catholicism into Asian culture, I recommend to you a great novel called Silence. Click here for book description.
St Andrew Kim and Companions, pray for us!
Mary, Queen of Peace, pray for us!
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