Today the Catholic Church and the Society of Jesus, especially in the Americas celebrate the life and witness of Blessed Miguel Pro, SJ. The final moments of Blessed Miguel Pro is filled with the spirit of unwavering commitment to Christ’s call to witness his teachings, even in the face of death he proclaimed the name of the Lord. Our Lord constantly taught us in the second week of the spiritual Exercises that some of you they will persecute and some of you they will kill, you will be called before governors and kings and before them you will bear witness to my name. Blessed Miguel’s life story is nothing short of response to this call. He was not only an inspiration but also a challenge to us who seek to follow Christ through the lens of the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius. His life reminds us of the profound grace found in the Third Week of the Exercises, which calls us to journey alongside Christ in His Passion, a journey of suffering, surrender, and love.
Blessed Miguel Pro’s words and actions during his final moments evoke the spirit of Saint Paul, who declared in his letter to the Philippians, for to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain, and like Saint Paul, Blessed Miguel embraced his suffering not as an end but as a means of glorifying God. His cry of Long live Christ the King! echoes Saint Paul’s resounding spirit that even in suffering, he suffered with Christ, and his life was no longer his, but of Christ, who lived in me. Blessed Miguel’s execution was not the crushing of faith but its ultimate triumph, a witness to the power of God’s love even in the face of suffering.
The persecution that Blessed Miguel endured under President Calles mirrors the trials faced by the early Church. The Acts of the Apostles recounts the courage of the apostles as they continued to proclaim the Gospel, despite despite imprisonments, threats, and even execution. Like the early Christians, Blessed Miguel too, ministered in discretion, bringing the sacraments to the faithful and reminding them that Christ’s presence could never be extinguished by human deeds.
As I reflect on Blessed Miguel’s final act of forgiveness, and his words, I am reminded of our Lord Jesus Christ’s words on the cross, and St. Steven before his death. Blessed Miguel’s prayer of mercy and blessings on his enemies is not a light thing say or think of in the face of death, it is only in faith and spirit of the Most High God can we manifest his love to th end. Blessed Miguel demonstrated a heart fully conformed to Christ. This radical forgiveness challenges us, especially as we meditate on the Third Week of the Exercises, to examine how do we respond to the sufferings and betrayals in our own lives.
For us as Jesuits, Blessed Miguel’s life is a call to greater zeal and courage. His calm, composed and prayerful demeanor reminds us of Ignatius’ exhortation to find God in all things. A challenging thing to do in the face of death. Yet, even as Blessed Miguel faced death, he bore witness to the joy of the Gospel, a joy that cannot be extinguished by external circumstances. His life is a testament to the magis, always seeking to give more for the love of Christ. Blessed Miguel gave himself wholly to Christ and His mission. Till the end. The Spiritual Exercises urge us to contemplate Christ’s Passion not only as a historical event but as a lived reality that invites our participation. Blessed Miguel exemplified this in his life and death. He challenges us to ask, how can we, too, embrace the cross in our lives? How can we proclaim, like him the glory of the Lord in the face of trials? Blessed Miguel Pro’s life teaches us that the ultimate victory lies in fidelity to Christ. In his suffering, he showed us how to unite our pain with Christ’s for the redemption of the world. In his forgiveness, he revealed the depth of the teachings of the Gospel that love triumphs over hatred. And in his final words, he gave us a cry of hope that will continue to echoe through eternity, Long live Christ the King!
May we, like Miguel, have the courage to live and die in the Lord. Let us pray for the grace to remain faithful, especially in the challenges of the Third Week of the Exercises, and to trust that in every trial, Christ is with us, leading us to the fullness of life in Him. For this I pray to the Lord, Amen.
Blessed Miguel Pro, pray for us.