Faith Under Fire: The Martyrdom of Saint Benjamin the Deacon

On March 31st, the Church honors Saint Benjamin the Deacon, a courageous Christian who lived during the persecutions of the Persian Empire and remained faithful to Christ even under torture and death. In this episode of The Southern Catholic Podcast, we take a deeper historical look at Saint Benjamin’s life, the persecution of Christians in Persia, and what his witness teaches Catholics today about courage, truth, and perseverance.

We reflect on how modern believers can stay faithful in a world that often pressures us to compromise, and we offer a Southern Catholic Challenge of the Day to help you live with the same bold faith as Saint Benjamin.

Grab your coffee or sweet tea, and walk with one of the Church’s heroic martyrs. ✝️

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:25

I don't have the muck in my face. Alright, everybody. Welcome back to the Southern Catholic podcast. Let me grab a cup of coffee. Maybe some sweet tea or one of those alawny things. Because today we're going to talk about a thing that most people don't know much about, never even heard of, especially what he's done. But he's one who's had courage, courage that's all to shake us up to the core. Let's begin. Amen. O holy Saint Benjamin, you face persecution with unwavering faith and courage. Intercede for us that we may remain steadfast in our beliefs amidst all these trials. Grant us the strength to proclaim the gospel boldly and live out the faith with conviction. May your example inspire us to preserve in righteousness. We ask this in the name of the Father and of the Son and in the Holy Spirit. Amen. Alright. So today, March 31st, the church is honoring Saint Benjamin the Deacon, which was a martyr who lived in Persia in the Persian Empire and gave his life rather than stop preaching Christ. We're going to go into a lot more depth about what that means. But this story, it reminds us that faith isn't something that we just always believe. It's something that we live, something that we experience, and it's something we stand for. And it's even when it costs us something. And in this case for Saint Benjamin, even when it cost everything. So let's just back up and look at the historical part of Christians living in Persia at this time. To understand Saint Benjamin, we need to understand the world he lived in. In the fourth-fifth centuries, Christianity had spread far beyond the Roman Empire and it reached all the way into Persia, which was ruled by the Sasanian kings. These rulers often saw Christians and suspicious because Christianity was also the religion of the Roman enemies. And during the reign of King Gazujerd I, I think I said that right. But after his death, persecution returned under Baram V, who ordered Christians to stop spreading their religion. And that's where Saint Benjamin enters the story. Now who was he? Saint Benjamin was a deacon, meaning he was ordained to serve the church, assist the priests, and care for the poor, and help teach the faith. He lived in Persia and he was known for preaching boldly about Christ, even when the authorities warned him to stop. According to ancient Christian accounts, Benjamin was arrested during a wave of persecution and imprisoned. One time there was a Roman ambassador that helped secure his release on only one condition. He was told that he must stop preaching Christianity. Benjamin agreed to be released, but in his heart he knew that he could never stop speaking about Christ. And once he was free, he went right back to preaching the gospel. Now when the Persian authorities learned that Benjamin had continued preaching, he was arrested again. And this time the punishment was really severe. The early Christian writers tell us that he was tortured in a brutal way, meant to force to deny Christ. He was given every chance to save his life if he would only stay silent about the gospel. He chose suffering over silence and Christ over safety, heaven over comfort. And finally, after enduring the torture with remarkable courage, Saint Benjamin was put to death around the year 424. And the church remembers him not for how he died, but for why he died. Because he would not deny Jesus Christ. Saint Benjamin lived the words of Christ from the gospel in Matthew 16 verse 25. Whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. And also in Matthew 10, verse 22, you will be hated by all my name's sake, but the one who dures to the end will be saved. And you know, martyrs like Saint Benjamin remind us that Christianity was never meant to be easy. It was never meant to be the easy path, alwa the happy path, always the happy path. When we hear the story of Saint Benjamin, it can feel distance. The persecution in Persia, the torture, the martyrdom, a different time and it's a different world. But the truth is his story is closer to our lives than we think. Most of us won't be arrested for preaching about Christ, and most of us won't face the kind of suffering the early martyrs endured. But every day, you know, we face those moments when we have to decide. Do I stand with Christ or do I stand comfortable? Saint Benjamin teaches that the powerful lessons that speak directly to a Catholic today. Faith is not just believed it must be lived publicly. Benjamin St. Benjamin was told he could live if he would just stop preaching about it. If he just denied Christ and not insult him. Just stay quiet about it. Low key is how the kids would say it now. And that's exactly the temptation many Catholics face today. Often time in the world we're told, especially in this country, that um keep your faith private. Um you don't talk about your faith to anybody. You don't talk about it um when you meet people, you don't talk about religion, you don't bring your morals into conversations, you don't make people uncomfortable. You can believe whatever you want quietly. But Christianity has never been a silent faith. Jesus said in Matthew 10, 32, everyone who acknowledges me before others, I will acknowledge before my Father in heaven. Saint Benjamin Benjamin reminds us that this faith isn't something we hold in our hearts. It shows in how we speak, how we act, how we treat people, and then what we stand for. Sometimes the modern form of persecution isn't violence. A lot of the time it's not. Rarely is it in the form of violence. It's the pressure instead, it is the pressure to stay silent. And silence slowly weakens the faith if we let it. These martyrs don't suddenly become brave in the moment of death. They become brave in the small choices that they make every day. And what is this a little like in our life? Well, it could be choosing prayer when we're tired, going to mass when we think it's an inconvenient, telling the truth when lying would be easier, faithful in marriage, raising children in faith, no matter how hard and all the distractions we have, refusing to laugh at sin and saying no when the world says yes. Saint Benjamin didn't wake up one day and he was ready to die for Christ. He became he became he became the kind of man who could die for Christ because he spent his life living for Christ. And that's an important lesson for us. We prepare for the big trials by being faithful in the small ones. As the gospel said in Luke 16, verse 10 whoever is faithful in little is faithful also in much. So every small act of faithfulness strengthens our soul. The third thing is that comfort is not the goal. Holiness is. One of the hardest truths of the Catholic faith faith is this. God didn't promise us comfort, he promised us salvation. Saint Benjamin could have lived a long, peaceful life if he had stayed quiet, if he would have renounced um the gospels. He could have avoided pain, avoided prison and death. But he understood something that we oftentimes forget. And it's that this life all the things that we have in it, the clothes, the statuses, the social media, all of these things in this life is not the final goal. Heaven is. Modern culture tells us that we have to be comfortable, to be safe, avo avoid suffering. Do whatever makes life easier for you, the the self help all about you and what makes it better in this life for you. The gospel tells us something different in Matthew chapter sixteen, verse twenty-four, take up your cross and follow me. Now, that cross might not be modern, but it could be carrying the responsibilities when you feel tired, staying faithful in that difficult marriage, caring for your family, like I said, when it's hard, and living morally, living the Catholic faith in a world that mocks it. Saint Benjamin reminds us that this holiness often requires sacrifice, and sacrifice united with Christ leads to glory. The fourth, the world changes, but the gospel doesn't. Saint Benjamin lived in a time when the government told Christians to stop spreading their faith. And today the pressure looks different, but the message can kind of sound the same. We hear things like truth is relevant, relative, morality is personal, um, religion should stay out of the public life, the church should change with the times. We've all heard these things. But the faith that Saint Benjamin died for is the same faith that the church teaches today. Christ hasn't changed, gospel hasn't changed, the truth hasn't changed. Saint Paul had wrote in Hebrews 13, verse 8, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Saint Benjamin reminds us that every generation, every generation must decide this. Will I follow Christ when it's easy, or will I follow Christ no matter what? And the fifth thing is the true strength that comes from trust in God, and it's not just from ourselves. One of the most moving parts of martyrdom stories is this they were all human. They all felt the pain. They all felt that fear and that weakness. But they trusted God more than they trusted themselves. Saint Benjamin's courage didn't come from being fearless, it came from believing that Christ was worth everything. Not because of fearless. And that's the same source of strength we have today. It's the same strength that's in our prayers, it's in the Eucharist, it's in the confession, it's in the teaching of the church, it's in the communion of the saints. We don't stand firm by our own power, we stand firm by the grace of God. As Saint Paul said in the Philippians um chapter four, verse thirteen, I can do all things through him who strengthens me. And six, every Catholic is called to be a witness. Again, not everyone is called to be a martyrdom, most of us aren't, but every Catholic is called to be a witness. A witness means living honestly, loving faithfully, speaking the truth, serving others, serving others genuinously, and trusting God and praying to God daily. You know, Saint Benjamin witnessed with his blood. We're called to witness with our own lives, and sometimes that can be hard. Down here in the South, we might as well just say it in this way. Faith isn't proven when life is easy, faith is proven when life gets hard and you still choose Christ. And that's exactly what Saint Benjamin did. Alright, so here's your Southern Catholic challenge of the day for the feast of Saint Benjamin. Do one thing, do one of these things that show courage in your faith. And maybe that looks like pray in the public without embarrassment. Speak kindly about your faith when it comes up. Stand up for what is right, even um if others disagree. Refuse to go along with some something you know is wrong, and spend time in prayer asking for strength to live faithfully. And say this prayer. Saint Benjamin, pray for me that I may be faithful to Christ in the small trials of my life, as you were faithful in the great ones. Let's pray in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen. Saint Benjamin, faithful deacon and holy martyr, you stood firm in the face of suffering and chose Christ above all things. Pray for us that we may have courage in our faith, strengthen our trials and perseverance in our daily lives. Help us never to be ashamed of the gospel, and teach us to trust God, even when following Him is hard, through Christ our Lord. Amen. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, amen. If this episode meant something to you, please share it with someone today, review it, review us, and don't forget to leave a review. It's on Apple Podcasts, all the other podcast stations you can find or apps. And remember, again, to keep your eyes on Christ, your heart with Mary, and your feet moving towards holiness. We're not alone in this. You're not alone in this. We're running this race together. I'll see you next time on the Southern Catholics podcast. Peace be with you.