When being martyred - better to suffer joyfully or somberly?

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So many martyrs have suffered seriously, but a few have been joyful (rejoicing & joking, even). If one is suffering greatly AND is able to manage one’s own mood (and that’s a big “IF”) would it be better to suffer and die somberly or joyfully?
 
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My opinion is joyful. The kingdom of Heaven would be in your midst if you were to die for Christ rather than reject Him and live, and the suffering unites you with Christ when He was suffering on the cross. I’d say you would have good reason to be joyful in your suffering. Suffering somberly would be understandable, though, as it would feel good to go through. It is never easy, but your reward is far greater than any suffering you would experience.
 
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In the little deaths we are asked to submit to every day, I’d say it is better to be joyful and to avoid being sour-faced. Even then, though, people are given different temperaments. I would not think anybody should try to force themselves to be something they are not! If you’re quiet and serious, that’s OK. It isn’t the same as being sour or bitter. It can even be a refuge in a world that is too worried about being funny all the time. Be the kind of person who bears your trials and just remains your serene self, whatever that is.

Considering the tortures the martyrs have been asked to endure, I’d say enduring and remaining faithful to virtue gives glory to God. If you’re somber or if you’re joking, that doesn’t matter so much. The main thing is you take whatever grace you get to endure to the end for the glory of God.
 
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I remember reading about a saint being martyred. They were being burned alive, and in the middle of it, they said “Could you turn me to the left please, I seem to be done on this side!”

That’s how I want to behave if I’m martyred.
 
In the book The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom (a true story about a Dutch Christian family who wound up in a concentration camp for hiding Jews during WWII), the author relays how her father and sister prayed hard for the German officials and the Nazis because they both believed that somebody would have to be living in incredible darkness to do the things they were doing.
 
IwishIknew said:
So many martyrs have suffered seriously, but a few have been joyful (rejoicing & joking, even). If one is suffering greatly AND is able to manage one’s own mood (and that’s a big “IF”) would it be better to suffer and die somberly or joyfully?
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Didn’t St. Lawrence literally make jokes while he was being roasted alive on a grill? He said something like, “Turn me over, I’m done on this side.” If I remember correctly…
 
I don’t believe I’d have joyful in me.

The thought of death fills me with horror and sorrow now; how much more when I’d be facing it?

ICXC NIKA
 
OKComputer said:
“Could you turn me to the left please, I seem to be done on this side!”
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Seriously? (I can be gullible. Please don’t laugh.)
Psalm30 said:
Didn’t St. Lawrence literally make jokes while he was being roasted alive on a grill? He said something like, “Turn me over, I’m done on this side.” If I remember correctly…
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Oh.
 
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‘There and then he was surrounded by the material for the pyre. When they tried to fasten him also with nails, he said: “Leave me as I am. The one who gives me strength to endure the fire will also give me strength to stay quite still on the pyre, even without the precaution of your nails.” So they did not fix him to the pyre with nails but only fastened him instead. Bound as he was, with hands behind his back, he stood like a mighty ram, chosen out for sacrifice from a great flock, a worthy victim made ready to be offered to God.’ - The Martyrdom of St Polycarp
 
You are allowed to use proportionate force against somebody trying to hurt you.
 
Each of us, martyrs or not, has our own gifts, our own personalities. No two martyrs have suffered exactly the same.
 
There is a lot of sadness and nihilism in many forms of paganism; and Roman philosophy during early Church times was big on teaching that you could not really change your fate, and that everything that ever happened would repeat endlessly, every ten or twenty thousand years.

So the joy of the early Christians at martyrdom, and the way others celebrated the martyrs’ day of death as their birthday into life, was very important as a witness. But many Christians were just calm or solemn, and that was just as good.

Look, Jesus told us not to worry about preparing speeches when we get persecuted, because the Holy Spirit will help us say whatever needs saying. I do not think we need to prepare a certain emotion, either. Let the Holy Spirit worry about your potential facial expressions!
 
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Mintaka said:
Jesus told us not to worry about preparing speeches
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The older I get the more I understand this teaching.
If your opponent has their mind made up, nothing you say will change them, no matter how eloquent.
If a person might be persuaded, you need to be calm in your mind and not rehearsing your speech in your brain so you can hear what they have to say an respond in a way that they know they were heard, even if they don’t agree immediately 🙂
 
0Scarlett_nidiyilii said:
You are allowed to use proportionate force against somebody trying to hurt you.
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So that means if you could get free and if it was the only way to escape you could try to kill them! But if they didnt die youd have to say sorry for trying to kill them and then tell them you forgive them for still trying to kill you.

That makes no sense!!
 
There are plenty of soldiers from opposing sides who do not hate each other.

If you are defending yourself from death, rape, etc., a then you have done nothing wrong. There is no need to apologize to anyone for reasonable defensive actions. Why would that even come up?

You might apologize for saying unnecessarily nasty things in the process, or something like that.
 
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Mintaka said:
There are plenty of soldiers from opposing sides who do not hate each other.

If you are defending yourself from death, rape, etc., a then you have done nothing wrong. There is no need to apologize to anyone for reasonable defensive actions. Why would that even come up?

You might apologize for saying unnecessarily nasty things in the process, or something like that.
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But scarlet said you have to forgive them.
 
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