NOVEMBER 28: MEMORIAL OF THE 22 OBLATE MARTYRS OF SPAIN

Between July and November 1936, 22 Oblates were martyred because of who they were and what they stood for. The youngest was 18, the next oldest was 19, and sixteeen others were in their twenties.

Prayer:

Almighty and eternal God
Who granted to Francisco Esteban and his martyred companions
the grace of giving their lives for Christ,
through a bloody oblation,
help us in our weakness,
so that through their intercession
and following their example,
we too might remain firm in our faith
and might be able to give our lives for others
through the “martyrdom of charity,”
according to the teaching of St. Eugene de Mazenod;
and in this way,
we might be able to give witness to the world
about who Jesus Christ is.
We ask this through the intercession of our Mother, Mary Immaculate,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
R. Amen.

Read more about them in “Eugene de Mazenod Speaks to us”:
https://www.eugenedemazenod.net/?p=1142;   https://www.eugenedemazenod.net/?p=1148;

THE FIRST GROUP OF MARTYRS

MARTYRDOM AS THE FULLNESS OF OBLATION

SPANISH MARTYRS – ALL FOR GOD

THE SPANISH MARTYRS: MODELS OF FAITH AND INTERCESSORS FOR US

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1 Response to NOVEMBER 28: MEMORIAL OF THE 22 OBLATE MARTYRS OF SPAIN

  1. Eleanor Rabnett, Oblate Associate says:

    O Happy Feast Day!

    I am struck by the words “martyrdom of charity” for this is where we are in our Oblate Studies. This is what the martyrdom of love can look like in our own times: this “bloody oblation” which I suppose sounds holy but in truth sounds terrifying.

    Still there is a small part of me that wants to say yes to whatever the Beloved asks of me.

    How do I give witness to the world about who Jesus Christ is for me? I have looked back on my life which appears to be so ordinary in most ways. But there have been times where through the grace of God alone I have been given the courage to stand up before the bullies of our world.

    How do I give my life for others? What does that look like? We used to be taught to pick up our cross and walk with it. Those thousands of daily ways we might choose to give witness to the world about who Jesus is. They may or may not be noticeable by others, but at the end of the day it is our Father in heaven who will see them.

    How do we become a martyr of charity in our own lives? What does our oblation speak to in our everyday lives? If we were asked to write them down on some sort of a ledger what would that book read like?

    I find myself singing “…whatsoever you do for the least of my brothers/sisters – that you do unto me”. These 23 Oblate martyrs become a model for us in our daily lives, one step-at-a-time. We give thanks to them even as we ask them to intercede for us alongside of Mary Immaculate.

    That our God should love us so…

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