Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them and teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. The Church honors today the memory of Paul Miki, a Japanese Jesuit scholastic, and his twenty-five companions who were both cleric and lay. They were martyred by being raised on crosses and then stabbed with spears. It is said that their executioners were astounded upon seeing their joy at being martyred in a manner following Christ’s passion. 
The martyrdom of Paul Miki and companions is certainly one that reads true of many missionary expeditions. It is a situation that for the most part is brought about because of ignorance about the Christian faith by hostile host cultures/societies. For those of us reading the stories of the encounters between early missionaries and their hostile host communities, the one thing that always stands out is the courage and zeal with which these men and women carried out their mission. In the unfortunate cases where the missionaries ended up being martyred, most of the time they rejected the opportunity offered to them by their executioners to renounce their faith in order to preserve their lives. I believe the missionary-martyrs are always ready to give up their lives because of the Pauline understanding of who a Christian is (or rather the transformation an individual undergoes after putting on the Christian attire), an understanding that we find in the passage constituting today’s First reading.
Paul, writing to the Christian community of Galatia, reminds them of the redemption he received in Christ Jesus. His encounter with Christ has given him a new identity, one which has enabled him to become a bold proclaimer of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For upon encountering the Christ, Paul accepted not only Christ’s message but also the person of Christ himself. He allowed Christ to totally “take over” his being. He goes on to say that the life he now lives following his encounter with Christ is that of Christ himself. 
One cannot become a real missionary unless he/she, like Paul the Apostle, allows Christ to take over his/her life. For unless a missionary understands the self as having died to Christ (in order to allow Christ to be alive in him/her), he/she will lack the zeal and courage exhibited by missionary-martyrs. Paul Miki and his companions certainly understood this missionary “requirement,” and was perhaps the reason why they were joyful even as they were being executed. They knew that their death was not a loss to either themselves or to the Church since they had already given up their lives to Jesus Christ. May we who celebrate them today also be filled with the grace to remain courageous in our proclamation and witnessing to the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.