As we come to the end of Allhallowtide, I’ve found the opportunity to reflect on why the Saints are important. The Saints are more than just good people: their sense of mission coupled with their holy mode of living ought to serve us as a source of inspiration. Of course, Jesus Christ is the moral example we all try to imitate, but how we ought to do this—given the diversity of our own times, places, circumstances, and personalities—is something we may discover by studying the lives of the Saints. Still, there is more to be gained from the lives of the Saints than inspiration and example, and that is their martyrdom: not only through death, but also through their “witness” to the faith.

At the moment, I’m reading a book about the history of Catholicism in England, which you might already know is a story replete with martyrs. It’s both heartbreaking to think of the gruesome fates they suffered, but also inspirational to read about their die-hard zeal for the Catholic Faith. Their lives attested to what they believed—come what may! And this spirit can be traced back to the very earliest days of Christianity, beginning with the martyrdom of St Stephen and all but one of the Twelve Apostles.

(Side note: For anyone looking for a good book to read, the one I’m reading is called Faith of Our Fathers: A History of True England by Joseph Pearce.)

Furthermore, to wear the crown of martyrdom is no easy feat, as one learns from the example of St Peter. Peter denied he knew Christ three times before the cock crew. Later, however, he suffered the same punishment as his divine master, albeit on an upside-down cross. Even he lacked the necessary grace to perfectly bear “witness” (another meaning of the Greek word for “martyr”) to the Truth all of the time. That it is so difficult even for a man like St Peter not only speaks to his very human experience of faith, but also to how incredible it is that so many others could bear to wear that crown.

Before I was Christian, I’d heard many arguments that sought to prove God’s existence. Was I convinced? Not really. Not that they were necessarily bad arguments, but none of them were enough to push me over the edge. What compelled me most was the martyrdom of so many Christians.

I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints and the blood of the witnesses to Jesus. When I saw her, I was greatly amazed.

Revelation 17:6

To me, this is the greatest significance to the lives of the Saints. It was not simply what they did while on Earth, but what they were willing to die for, and what many of them actually did die for. What was it, I wondered, that compelled them to give their lives for Christ? Could it be that it was because it was all true? As you may have guessed, I reckoned that this was the answer.