The Seleucids who persecuted the Jewish people at the time of the Maccabean revolt were terrorists. They did not just kill their enemies but did it in such a way as to try to intimidate them. For example, they did not just kill seven Jewish brothers but scalped, dismembered, and fried them one by one, while forcing the remaining brothers and their mother to watch every brutal act. The Seleucids planned that the mother's anguish would be used to manipulate her sons into becoming traitors to their faith or that they would at least break the spirit of the mother and the Jewish nation by their terrorism.
However, the terrorists' psychological warfare backfired on them. The mother's relationship with the Lord and with her sons was so strong that she did not crack under pressure. She strengthened her sons to die heroic deaths, and she followed them in martyrdom. Her faith and her family's faith was so strong that it defeated the terrorists. Contrary to what many believe, terrorism is not defeated by military might. Because terrorism is demonic, it cannot be defeated by merely human means. It can be defeated only by faith in Jesus, especially by holy families of faith (Mt 17:20-21). Therefore, we must become holy faith-filled disciples of Jesus, or we will be helpless, intimidated, manipulated victims of terrorists.
| PRAYER: | Father, I reject the spirit of fear and accept the Holy Spirit (see 2 Tm 1:6-7; Rm 8:15). |
| PROMISE: | "He, in His mercy, will give you back both breath and life." –2 Mc 7:23 |
| PRAISE: | St. Cecilia, her husband, and her brother-in-law were all beheaded as martyrs for their steadfast faith in Jesus. |
Reprinted with permission from Presentation Ministries, a lay association of the Catholic Church that focuses on evangelization and discipleship through Bible teaching, daily Mass, the charisms of the Holy Spirit, and Small Christian Community. Their ministries include:
· One Bread, One Body
· Daily Bread Radio Program
· Annual Bible Institute
· Discipleship Retreats
· Guadalupe Bible College