In Japan, what do Indian, American, Spanish, Portuguese, African and Japanese people all have in common? Or how about workers such as a carpenter, a hospital manager, a silk weaver, a chemist, a doctor, a cook, a trader, a teacher, a one-time ambassador, or even a few children from 12-14 years old? Could it be a congregation of people found at St. Ignatius Church on any given Sunday? Yet, in fact, these are the 26 Martyrs of Japan, who were crucified and died for their Catholic Faith in Nagasaki in 1597. All are saints, canonized in 1627. But these saints were mostly simple people coming from ordinary backgrounds.

Do we think that only special ‘holy’ people can be saints? Saint Josemaria Escriva reminds us that, each and everyone one of us can become a saint; it is open to all. Of course, God may not call us to be ‘red’ martyrs but we are called to develop saintly lives in the state of life that we find ourselves. Concretely this means striving to be Christ-like, to live our lives with faith, love and charity, to surrender ourselves to God’s plan so that through His graces in us we can become saintly and even fulfill our role as a missionary people.

A joyful life even if it embraces sacrifice and pain; a smile for a lonely heart; slowness to judge imperfections of others; being a patient listener even to difficult people; living a life of simplicity, meekness and daily prayer: courageously speaking up for Church teachings in the office or the café: these are some of the ways of developing a saintly life. Through such example, we can inspire, move and give hope to people in our daily circles.

St. Ignatius Church’s Mission 2030 vision can equally help ignite the fire of our faith for it too encourages us to live a saintly life both individually and as a community of God’s children. We are encouraged to unite and pray together, to share our faith and hearts through the rich variety of our personalities, national cultures and life experiences. We even become spiritually connected to the early international and Japanese Christians of 16th century Japan.

The hidden Christians of Japan inspire us too. Having gone underground due to 250 years of persecution they finally emerged in 1865 to greet the new Catholic missionaries to Japan with the words, “Our hearts are the same as yours”.

Inspiration further comes from St. Augustine (St. Augustine’s Confessions) when he stated, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.”

And so our hearts united by faith in God and shared together as a St. Ignatius Church community can be the same source of inspiration brought to Japan by St. Francis Xavier over 400 years ago. We are connected not only to each other but also to the hearts of St. Francis Xavier, the early missionaries, the 26 Martyrs, the persecuted and the hidden Christians so that the baton has been passed on to our generation for us to be saintly and to continue the missionary goal of Christ’s Church to bring salvation to souls in Japan.