Tuesday 30 June 2026
First Martyrs of the Church of Rome
Amos 3:1-8; 4:11-12. Lead me in your justice, Lord – Ps 5:5-8. Matthew 8:23-27.
Our changed understanding of God
After a large fire in Rome in 64AD, Nero launched a persecution of the Christians and blamed them. Their deaths were brutal. The two entrance antiphons offered for this feast talk of the Lord rescuing them and they earn ‘unfading crowns’. The first reading from the prophet Amos is nothing short of frightening. It reveals a punishing God: ‘Israel, prepare to meet your God!’ The psalm follows the theme with ‘you destroy all who lie’. But then we come to Jesus. In today’s Gospel Jesus admonished the disciples when a storm hit their boat for their lack of faith. The God that Jesus revealed is a God of endless compassion and patience. God gives us the time to come back to Divine Love, to be forgiven and to forgive ourselves. The suffering of the martyrs is not God’s vengeance; it is God’s people showing their faith. Jesus changes our understanding of God.
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