In the Line of Duty

Acts 5:34-42; John 6:1-15

During the course of the COVID-19 pandemic here in Chicago, we’ve lost some police officers and firefighters to the virus. Their deaths were determined to be “in the line of duty,” even though no guns were fired or burning buildings were entered. That official designation entitles their grieving families to certain benefits, but it also gives us a broader understanding of what “the line of duty” for first responders really encompasses.

The word martyr comes from the Greek word for “witness.” St. Fidelis was a martyr in that broader and more literal sense long before he was killed by a mob in Switzerland during the political and religious upheavals of the Counter-Reformation. As a layman, he was known as “the poor people’s lawyer,” fighting for the rights of the most vulnerable. As a Capuchin friar, he was a popular preacher and missionary who also fed those who were hungry and ministered to victims of an epidemic.  

Nourished by the Eucharist and trusting in God’s providence and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we should all aspire to be martyrs in the broad sense—witnesses to the gospel of Jesus and instruments of his compassion, mercy and justice. As Christians, we should all hope to die “in the line of duty.” 

- Capuchin Friar John Celichowski