Living and Dying for One’s Faith, Journey of Faith

Today’s first reading narrates the inspirational story of seven martyr brothers and their brave mother who endured a fierce religious persecution from the pagan Seleucid kings two centuries before the birth of Christ. They remained faithful to their monotheistic religion; they noted that it was their choice “to die at the hands of men with the hope God gives of being raised up by him.” This is an early expression of “resurrection faith,” a central theme of today’s Gospel.