Commentary: How will you react when your faith is tested?

By Cynthia M. Allen

The headlines the morning of July 26 were grim, as they are too often these days.

The Rev. Jacques Hamel, an 85-year-old Roman Catholic priest, was murdered at the altar while saying Mass in a church in Rouen, France.

His assailants, two teenage males armed with knives, reportedly declared their allegiance to the Islamic State before slaughtering him beneath the crucifix.

As he lay dying, he is said to have whispered, "Go away, Satan," to the teens, whose actions were motivated by hatred.

News of Hamel's martyrdom quickly reached more than a million pilgrims gathered in Krakow, Poland, to commemorate World Youth Day, a massive celebration of Catholic youths for the prayer, worship, and observance of the faith.

The attack in France - a blatant assault on the faith the pilgrims had come to share and proclaim - left many of them scared and feeling vulnerable.

"Personally, I was terrified something would happen," said Maggie Jensen, a high school senior who attended the weeklong pilgrimage in Poland. "Lots of people shared these fears."

And Hamel's death at the hands of terrorists confirmed the worst.

At the opening Mass for World Youth Day that evening, the celebrants were not reluctant to discuss the terrible event.

The priests "talked about what we would have done," if confronted with a similar test, Jensen said.

Was their faith in God and their church strong enough not to crumble in the face of a terrible and certain death? Would they be willing to die for what they believe?

"A lot of people realized they were willing to," said Jensen, who counts herself among those who would follow Hamel's example.

"It was one of those sufferings where we were sharing the suffering and struggle with others." Jensen said. "It helped everyone unite and realize we can't fear the terrorists; we just have to have faith."

It was fitting that the theme for World Youth Day was "Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy."

The patron saints of this year's event were Pope John Paul II and Sister Faustina, who received God's revelations of divine mercy in the last four years of her life.

And it was this profound belief in forgiveness and love, so desperately needed during times of darkness and trial, that motivated those gathered in Krakow - particularly those who had overcome great obstacles to attend.

Jensen recalled her encounters with pilgrims from Iraq and Lebanon, where being Catholic presents unique challenges, including the constant fear of martyrdom.

She encountered a woman from Lebanon on an elevator. "She didn't speak a lot of English but asked me to pray for her and her country - that was the only request she could make."

Another young woman who offered her testimony was born in a refugee camp where she lived for years before becoming a U.S. citizen.

"It was beautiful to communicate and share the importance of prayer," Jensen said. "You see everyone's struggles and realize you're all in this together."

Indeed. many Christians the world over, even if they do not face open persecution as most do in communist or Islamic countries, are confronted with the insidious lure of secular humanism.

Pope Francis addressed such "worldly opposition" in his homily to the young people gathered in Poland.

"People may judge you to be dreamers, because you believe in a new humanity," he said, "one that rejects hatred between peoples, one that refuses to see borders as barriers and can cherish its own traditions without being self-centered or small-minded."

At Hamel's funeral Mass, Archbishop Dominique Lebrun interpreted the priest's dying words as an expression of his "faith in man, created good, but grasped by the devil."

In our modern world, your faith may be tested by those who doubt you, and it may be tested by those who hate you.

For Jensen, the message of World Youth Day is that, for Catholics, the response should be the same.

"We are much stronger when we're merciful," she said.

Cynthia M. Allen is a columnist for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. cmallen@star-telegram.com