Remember, remember… sacrifice | Faith Matters

November is a month of remembrance, inspired by the Church’s remembrance of all its unnamed saints and all the faithful departed at the beginning of the month. The First World War added Armistice Day, which after the Second World War gave place to Remembrance Sunday, when we remember with respect and gratitude all who died in those great conflicts and in the lesser wars of ensuing years.

If you have ever been to Westminster Abbey you may have noticed the ten statues depicting Christian Martyrs of the twentieth century above the west door. They challenge us to expand our remembrance to include all who have made great sacrifices for the benefit of others. Each one represents many other victims of tyranny, fanaticism, dictatorship, prejudice and brutality. They include Archbishop Oscar Romero, Archbishop of San Salvador, who stood out against the oppression of the poor and the abuse of human rights by a repressive government. He was shot at the altar in 1980 while saying Mass. There are also the human rights leader, Martin Luther King, assassinated in Memphis in 1968, the Chinese pastor Wang Zhiming, executed in front of a mass rally of over 10,000 people during the Cultural Revolution, the Grand Duchess Elizabeth, a member of the Russian royal family, who renounced her status to take religious vows and care for orphans, but who was murdered by the revolutionaries.

One of the most inspiring of these heroes is the Polish Franciscan priest, Maximilian Kolbe, a prisoner in Auschwitz. When a prisoner from his block escaped, the commandant ordered that ten prisoners should be locked in an airtight cell as a reprisal and left to die. One of those selected begged to be spared because he had a wife and children, and Fr Kolbe stepped forward to take his place.

True remembrance should motivate us to preserve all that is good and change what is bad, praying always to be given the strength to do what is right.

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Dates for your diary

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• Cathedral Theology Network Online Courses: The Crusades, given by Charlotte Gauthier.

Running at 7pm on Zoom on November 14, 21, 28, and December 5, these talks promise to the history, theology, and social impact of the crusades from the Middle Ages to the present day. The speaker, Charlotte Gauthier, is a doctoral researcher in History at Royal Holloway, University of London. For more information and to register internet, visit www.cathedraltheology.org/crusades

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• American Thanksgiving service – Chichester Cathedral, Thursday, November 25, 5.30pm.

Introduced at the request of the Chichester Cathedral American Patrons, the cathedral is keen to share all it has learnt about its transatlantic links. There will be an opportunity to meet with the American visitors for drinks after the service. For more information, do visit www.chichester.anglican.org/events/2023/11/23/american-thanksgiving-service

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• Life as a Franciscan Sister or Brother… could this be for me...?

Meeting on Zoom between 9.30am and 1pm on Saturday, December 2, this virtual time offers the opportunity to explore Franciscan community life within the Church of England. Please book by November 30. To do so, contact Sister Maureen CSF at [email protected]