Thousands of Canadians are currently united as they pray the 54-day Rosary Novena for Canada. Please consider joining the novena by signing up as a Prayer Partner at www.Canada54.com.
During the sixth and last novena (June 12-June 20) of the 54-Day Rosary novena, the Canadian Martyrs are being honoured.
The martyrs were eight French Jesuits (six priests and two coadjutor brothers) who came to North America to proclaim the Gospel to the Huron and Iroquois. They were martyred between 1642 and 1649. Father Isaac Jogues and the two coadjutor brothers (Renè Goupil and John de La Lande) suffered at Auriesville, N.Y., in 1642 and 1646, and the other five priests (Anthony Daniel, John de Brébeuf, Gabriel Lalemant, Charles Garnier, and Noel Chabanel) suffered in Huron territory near Georgian Bay in 1648 and 1649.
Renè Goupil, Isaac Jogues, John de La Lande, and Noel Chabanel were tomahawked to death; Anthony Daniel and Charles Garnier were shot; John de Brébeuf and Gabriel Lalemant were brutally and cruelly tortured to death.
Isaac Jogues (1607-1646) arrived in Quebec on July 2, 1636. During his time as captive of the Iroquois, Jogues was being tortured and having his thumb cut off. He wrote, “Then taking up in my other hand the severed thumb, I offered it to you my living and true God, in remembrance of the Sacrifices that I had offered in your church during the past seven years.” After this captivity, a Calvinist knelt and kissed the mangled hands of Jogues and exclaimed: “Martyr of Jesus Christ!”
Jogues returned to France. Pope Urban VIII, who considered Jogues a "living martyr," gave him dispensation to celebrate Mass with his mutilated hand. After only a year and a half in France, Jogues return to New France in 1644. On Oct. 16, 1646, Jogues was killed with a tomahawk. The killer of Jogues was captured in 1647 and was condemned to death. While awaiting his execution, the man was baptized and took the Christian name of Father Isaac Jogues.
John de Brébeuf (1596–1649) was from Condé-en-Brie in Normandy (France). He joined the Jesuits at Rouen in 1617 and was a missionary priest in New France from 1625. His progress as a missionary in achieving conversions was slow. It was only in 1635 that some Hurons agreed to be baptized. In 1649, the Iroquois attacked the Hurons and John de Brébeuf and Gabriel Lalement were slowly tortured to death over a period of 17 hours.
John de Brebeuf had a strong desire to suffer martyrdom. He wrote in his spiritual diary: “For two days now I have experienced a great desire to be a martyr and to endure all the torments the martyrs suffered.”
He made a vow of accepting martyrdom to Christ the Lord: “I vow before your eternal Father and the Holy Spirit, before your most holy Mother and her most chaste spouse, before the angels, apostles and martyrs, before my blessed fathers Saint Ignatius and Saint Francis Xavier – in truth I vow to you, Jesus my Saviour, that as far as I have the strength I will never fail to accept the grace of martyrdom, if some day you in your infinite mercy would offer it to me, your most unworthy servant.”
St. Joseph is the principle patron of Canada, and the Canadian Martyrs are the secondary patrons of our country. These martyred missionaries consecrated the first beginnings of the faith in North America.
Novena Prayer in honour of the Canadian Martyrs:
Holy Canadian Martyrs, who, during your lives on earth, boldly and with heroic perseverance, proclaimed the Saving Gospel of Jesus Christ, even to the shedding of your blood; pray for us. May God inflame our hearts with energetic commitment to the new evangelization, so that the Holy Catholic Church in Canada may awaken from slumber, and fulfill her mission with signs and wonders. Amen.
傳教士為基督捨生
目前，數千加拿大信眾，參加了54日玫瑰經九日敬禮，希望你們都到網址www.canada54.com上登記，成為這次敬禮的共禱者。
第六個、亦是最後一個54日玫瑰經九日敬禮（6月12日至6月20日），我們向加拿大殉道聖者致敬。
加拿大殉道聖者包括六位法國籍的耶穌會神父和兩位輔理修士，他們來到北美，向赫倫族和伊洛魁族土箸宣講福音，在1642年至1649年間為主致命 ── 依撒格.喬格斯神父和兩位輔理修士、勒內.古皮爾和若翰.德拉蘭德，在1642年及1646年，今天的紐約奧里斯維爾，是他們捨生之處。其餘五位神父：安多尼.丹尼爾、若翰.德布雷夫、佳播.拉萊曼特、嘉祿.加尼爾和諾埃爾.沙巴內爾，分別在1648年至1649年間，接近喬治安灣的赫倫族地區殉道。
勒內.古皮爾、依撒格.喬格斯、若翰.德拉蘭德和諾埃爾.沙巴內爾，均死於斧下。安多尼.丹尼爾和嘉祿.加尼爾，被箭射死。若翰.德布雷夫及佳播.拉萊曼特，受著極度折磨後死去。
依撒格.喬格斯（1607-1646）於1636年7月2日抵達魁北克，首次被伊洛魁族人俘虜時，姆指被砍去。他寫道：「我用另一隻手拿起那被砍的姆指，奉獻給祢—–我的生活和真實的天主，以記念我在祢教會内在過去七年所獻的聖祭。」一個加爾文主義信徒見狀，親吻神父殘缺的手，嘆說：「耶穌基督的烈士！」
當喬格斯神父返回法國後，教宗伍朋八世把他看做活烈士，特准他用殘缺的手繼續主持彌撒。一年半後，1644年，喬格斯神父再到新法國，並在1646年的10月18日被死於斧下。1647年，砍死喬格斯神父兇手被捕，受死刑前取依撒格.喬格斯之名接受聖洗聖事。
若翰.德布雷夫（1596-1649）來自法國諾曼第的布里碼。1617年在魯昂加入耶穌會；1625年被派到新法國作傳教士。他的傳教工作歸化的成果緩慢：在1635才有一些赫倫族人願意受洗。1649年伊洛魁族來襲，若翰.德布雷夫及佳播.拉萊曼特神父雙雙被擄走，受了十七小時的苦刑才殉難。
若翰.德布雷夫神父本有強烈的殉道意願；在他的神修日記寫著：「這兩天，有著極強烈的殉道渴望，準備接受烈士要受的所有酷刑。」
他向主基督作出誓言：「我在永遠聖父及聖神、聖母及其淨配、眾天使、宗徒、殉道者，和我的會祖聖依納爵及聖方濟.薩威前，向我的救主耶穌真確起誓：如果有一天，因祢無限的仁慈，將殉道的聖寵賜與我——祢不配的僕人，我要全力以赴，絶不放棄。」
大聖若瑟是加拿大的主保，加拿大殉道聖人是副主保，他們祝聖了北美首批萌芽的信德。
向加拿大殉道諸聖的九日敬禮禱文:
加拿大殉道的諸位聖者，你們曾以無比堅忍的勇氣，甚至不惜灑熱血地，在世宣講耶穌基督救世的福音，請為我們祈求。願天主燃點我們的心窩，精力充沛地投身新福傳，好能讓在加拿大的天主教教會從昏睡中被喚醒，且在徵兆與奇功中滿全她的使命。亞孟。
