Heroic Virtue – Persecution

Today’s episode describes three heroic themes: Samwise Gamjee’s faithfulness to the mission of the ring and to his friend Frodo Baggins, in JRR Tolkien’s famous trilogy, Lord of the Rings. Sam represents the meek in the 3rd Beatitude, and from his faithfulness, he inherits the earth–by saving it from the evil Sauron. The next hero described is St Augustine, and his perseverance by encouraging Chrisitians to remain faithful to the God of Christianity, in spite of the persecutions by pagans during the fall of Rome. The great African bishop details this in his classic City of God. Finally, we describe the humble heroism of the nuns of Compiegne (aka “Martyrs of Compiegne”), a group of Carmelite nuns and religious sisters who, rather than renounce their faith during the French Revolution’s Reign of Terror redoubled their devotion to Christ and the Church by remaining faithful even though it led them to the guillotine.