Blessed Miguel Augustin Pro, Priest and Martyr, SJ – Readings
Commentary on Jeremiah 20:7-9; Psalm 100; Matthew 7:13-14, 21-25
The Gospel reading is from Matthew. It is a passage from the Sermon on the Mount, which in general gives a picture of the true disciple of Jesus, beginning with the beautiful set of statements we call the Beatitudes.
Today’s reading comes from the last of the three chapters which make up this long discourse (most likely, it was not delivered at one time by Jesus but is rather a collection of his teachings on a single theme).
In the first part of the reading, Jesus urges his followers to “enter through the narrow gate”. That gate leads to the Way of Jesus. It has very clearly marked parameters but it is the Way to truth, to unconditional love of God and of one’s brothers and sisters, it is a Way of justice, of compassion for those in need, and the Way that leads to deep fulfilment.
On the other hand, “the gate that leads to damnation is wide, the road is clear and many choose to travel it”. It is the way of unbridled liberalism, a way where anything goes, if you like it, do it.
But it is a road that leads to one’s own ultimate destruction and the destruction of others. We see it every day.
The Way of Jesus, the Way of Truth and Love, can seem very restricting, a narrow gate, and yet to those who choose to walk this Way it is the road to true freedom and fulfilment. And it is the Way that Miguel Pro chose to walk and who risked his life in helping others who also wanted to go the Way of Jesus.
In the second part of the reading, Jesus tells his disciples that simply calling out ‘Lord, Lord’ will not guarantee one a place in God’s Kingdom. Only those who faithfully carry out God’s will in their lives will be part of his Kingdom. And that is really a definition of the Kingdom: the Kingdom exists wherever people are living their lives in the way that God wants.
At the end, when “that day” comes, it will not be enough to say that one did all kinds of things in the name of God – that one prophesied, that one exorcised people, or even performed miracles. One hears of certain people who claim to do all these things and attract large numbers of people to them as ‘wonderworkers’ with a direct line to God or a saint. But, where God is concerned, it means nothing if they are not living according to the will of God as laid out for us by Jesus in the Gospel. On meeting the Lord, they will cry out: “We expelled devils in your name!” And God will say to them the terrible words: “I never knew you.”
Again, such accusations could never be thrown against Miguel Pro. He served his Lord not by any sensational demonstrations but, behind closed doors, bringing Christ to his brothers and sisters and doing so at great risk to his life. Publicity was the last thing he wanted. Ironically, it was in his death that his enemies gave him that publicity.
The First Reading from the prophet Jeremiah is a beautiful passage where Jeremiah speaks of the pain he experiences in being a prophet and yet a pain that he in no way can avoid, or wants to avoid. It must reflect the feelings that Miguel Pro experienced in leading a life where he was always just one step ahead of those anxious to destroy him.
Jeremiah begins by partly mocking his God and himself: “You duped me, O Lord, and I let myself be duped; you were too strong for me, and you triumphed. All the day I am an object of ridicule; everyone mocks me.” Miguel, too, allowed himself to be duped by his Lord but did not for a moment regret it. The power of Jesus’ love was too strong and could not be resisted but, as a result, he became a man on the run, an object of contempt for his enemies.
Jeremiah complains that he has no choice but to pass on the message of his Lord but he pays a high price for it. “Whenever I speak, I must cry out, violence and outrage is my message” – the violence that will come when God’s people do not listen to him. “The word of the Lord has brought me derision and reproach all the day.”
Not surprisingly, he would like to keep silence and not endure such derision but he knows he cannot. “I say to myself, I will not mention him, I will speak in his name no more, but then it comes like fire burning in my heart, imprisoned in my very bones, I grow weary holding it in, I cannot endure it.”
Miguel Pro would surely have identified with every word in this experience of Jeremiah. How nice it would have been to run away from Mexico and go to some place where it is easy to be a practising Catholic. But there is no way he could have done that. His flock needed him. He was the good shepherd ready to die for his sheep.
May our Church have many such sheep at every level in the task of our Christian mission.
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Blessed Miguel Augustin Pro, Priest and Martyr, SJ
Blessed Miguel Augustin Pro, Priest and Martyr, SJ (Optional memorial)
Miguel Augustin Pro was born in Guadalupe de Zacatecas, Mexico, on 13 January 1891 into a large family of seven brothers and sisters. Inspired by two of his sisters entering religious life, Miguel, at the age of 20, entered the Society of Jesus at Hacienda El Llano.
It was a time of political and religious persecution in Mexico under the rule of Presidents Alvaro Obregon and then Plutarco Elias Calles, described by writer Graham Greene as the “fiercest persecution of religion anywhere since the reign of [Queen] Elizabeth”. The Pro family suffered both financial and personal hardship. Miguel and his fellow Jesuit novices were also under threat, as Catholic priests and religious were particular objects of persecution in the reign of terror. Following a raid of their religious house, the Jesuit superiors ordered Miguel and the other novices to flee Mexico. They went first to Los Gatos, California and from there to Granada, Spain (1915-19) and then Miguel taught in Nicaragua from 1919 to 1922.
Because of his background with miners in Mexico and his natural ability to relate well with them, he was sent to Enghein in Belgium to study the Catholic labour movement. He was also ordained priest there on 31 August, 1925. His first assignment as a priest was to work with miners in Charleroi, Belgium and he was able to win them over.
A few months after his ordination, he had several operations because of stomach ulcers. He was also distressed by the situation back home. Yet, his companions noted that when he felt the most pain, he would seem at his most cheerful.
With the hope of helping him regain his health, in 1926, he was granted his wish to return to Mexico to be closer to his family, even though the Church in Mexico was facing major challenges from an anti-Catholic government under the presidency of President Calles. Constitutional amendments and legislation had recently been passed which severely restricted public worship. Any Catholic priest daring to celebrate the Eucharist or administer any of the sacraments risked harassment, arrest, torture and even execution.
Under such circumstances Miguel played a cat and mouse game with the police as he secretly ministered to the physical and spiritual needs of the people – rich, poor, business people or labourers, even some Socialists and Communists. Getting around by bicycle and variously disguised as a mechanic, a servant or an educated person of culture, he was able to give spiritual sustenance to many people. In the spirit of St Paul, he was all things to all people for the sake of proclaiming the Gospel. He won people over through prayer and his great sense of humour. While the army and police had their guns, Miguel used to say, pointing to his crucifix: “Here is my weapon…with this I do not fear anyone.”
He had also said: “I am ready to give my life for souls, but I want nothing for myself. All that I want is to lead them to God. If I kept anything for myself, I should be a thief, infamous; I should no longer be a priest.”
Many of the details of his ministry come from his letters, which he signed ‘Cocol’. In October 1926, a warrant for his arrest was issued. He was arrested, released from prison the next day, but kept under surveillance.
An assassination attempt against former president, Álvaro Obregón, in November, 1927 provided the state with an excuse to arrest Miguel and his brother Roberto. A young engineer who was involved and confessed his part in the assassination, testified the Pro brothers were not involved but he was ignored. The authorities claimed to link the Pro brothers to the crime through an old car which had formerly belonged to one of the brothers. Even though they knew that the brothers were innocent, it was enough that they were both Catholic priests and so enemies of the regime. Simply on that basis, without due process or a trial, the two brothers were condemned to die.
On the morning of 23 November, 1927, Miguel Pro was led from his cell to his place of execution. The police and military ignored the shouts of a man outside the execution area who said he had a stay of execution for the two brothers. As Miguel was led to his death, a policeman responsible for his capture asked his forgiveness which was immediately given. Minutes before his execution and declining the usual blindfold, Miguel asked to be allowed to pray. He knelt down on the ground, in front of a wall already riddled with bullets from previous executions. Like his Master, he accepted God’s will, then stood up, stretched out his arms as if on a cross. Like his Master, he forgave his executioners and, as they raised their guns, he shouted in a clear and loud voice: “Viva Cristo Rey!”. (Long live Christ the King). When the initial shots of the firing squad failed to kill him, a soldier shot him dead at close range.
Strangely, there is a detailed photographic record of the execution. This was done on the express orders of the president and they appeared on the front page of newspapers all over the country. The idea was to intimidate other rebels against the government but, not surprisingly, they had the opposite effect, and are now a precious record of a martyr’s death.
Miguel Pro was beatified by Pope John Paul II on 25 September 1988. He is remembered for his happy disposition, his extraordinary dedication to the priestly ministry under the most harsh conditions, and his devotion to Christ the King. One of his companions, Fr. Pulido, said that he “had never seen such an exquisite wit, never coarse, always sparkling”.
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