Pope: Be Ready for Sacrifice, Even Martyrdom

From Pope says be ready for sacrifice, even martyrdom:



"Pope John Paul II has called on all Christians to be ready to bear witness to the truth of Christ, even 'at the cost of suffering and great sacrifice'.



Speaking at the midday Angelus on Sunday, the Holy Father recalled the martyrdom of St John the Baptist, whom Jesus had called 'the greatest among those born of women'.



He said John the Baptist gave 'the supreme witness of blood, sacrificing his existence for truth and justice; he was in fact decapitated based on the orders of Herod.'



Referring to the encyclical Veritatis splendor, the Pope said martyrdom, like that of St John the Baptist, is 'an eminent sign of the holiness of the Church,' which 'represents the summit of the testimony to moral truth.'



Although relatively few are called to this supreme sacrifice, it is 'testimony that all Christians must be ready to give every day, even at the cost of suffering and grave sacrifice.' "