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The August Shield: How the Immaculate Heart Fortified the Martyrs of Red, White, and Green

Updated: 5 days ago


August is dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, celebrating her total obedience and her steadfast faith amidst both her greatest joys and deepest sorrows. Many Catholics traditionally dedicate the entire month to honoring Our Blessed Mother with focus on her pure love for God, her profound interior life, and her compassionate care for all humanity. Venerable Pope Pius XII in 1944 instituted the fixed feast to be celebrated on August 22. In 1969, Pope Paul VI moved the feast day to a moveable date to land on the third Saturday after Pentecost Sunday, thus pairing it closely with the Sacred Heart of Jesus feast day.


The title of Immaculate Heart is rooted in Scripture and evolved over centuries of saints who did not merely admire the Immaculate Heart of Mary; through radical surrender and humble obedience, they made their lives living reflections of her maternal love. The profound spirituality of the Heart of Mary is captured in the Gospel of Luke (1:18; 2:19; 2:51; 2:34-35). These scriptural references illustrate the profound spirituality of the heart of Mary, capturing her actively treasuring and weighing God’s word.

Two key verses reveal an Immaculate Heart that serves as a model for actively trusting God even when life’s events are confusing or painful.

  • The Gospel of Luke 2:19 states, “And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.” Here, Mary reveals her interior life: a life characterized by obedience to God’s will, pure faith, continual prayer, and receptive love.

  • Luke 2:35 states, “(and you yourself a sword will pierce) so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.” By keeping her heart perfectly pure and open to God’s will, her sorrow is viewed not as a punishment, but as a deep, loving participation in the redemptive work of Jesus.


In the 17th century, Saint John Eudes, a French priest, celebrated the first authorized liturgical feast to the heart of Mary, earning him the title of the devotion’s “father, doctor, and apostle.” This devotion took on an urgent prophetic new meaning in 1917 when the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to three shepherd children in Fatima, Portugal, six times. Our Blessed Mother promised these three shepherd children that her Immaculate Heart would triumph; this solidified the title and the devotion spread throughout the world. Mary told the Fatima children, “Jesus wants to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart. I promise salvation to those who embrace it, and these souls will be loved by God, like flowers placed by me to adorn His throne.”


To honor Mary’s Immaculate Heart is to enter into a school of love. August is a spiritually packed month of “heavy hitters” – beloved martyrs and saints of the Catholic Church who drew their strength from the Immaculate Heart of Mary, mirroring her perfect obedience and fierce love of Christ. This month is renowned and anchored by a rich lineup of martyrs whose feast days are celebrated, including: Saint Peter Julian Eymard, Saint Lawrence, Saint Philomena, Saint Maximillian Kolbe, the Passion of John the Baptist, and Saint Rose of Lima. These saints represent only a small fraction of the great cloud of witnesses anchored in August who continue to inspire. The sacrifices of these saints echo throughout the ages and provide the ultimate testament to the faith and offer supreme proof of love for Christ.


Faith should be rooted in bearing witness, even at the cost of one’s own life. In Greek the word martyr (μάρτυς) means witness. Saint Thomas Aquinas states, “Martyrdom is the greatest sign of charity, the love that comes from knowing God” (ST II-II.124.3). In essence, the martyr chooses to give witness to the reality of God over his own life. Historically, Catholic tradition categorizes this supreme witness into three distinct forms: red, white, and green.


Imagine, around the heavenly Throne of God, stands the holy martyrs, robed in red symbolizing the ultimate sacrifice, others clothed in white symbolizing their total detachment, and those dressed in green symbolizing their lifelong ascetic labors. This article will explore how several notable saints from the month of August embodied these ideals, examining the unique lives they led and the specific types of martyrdom they participated in. It is important to note that these three types of martyrdom hold hands with the Immaculate Heart of Mary because her entire life was a seamless, spiritual martyrdom of perfect love, radical detachment, and sacrificial endurance.


Throughout the month of August, one saint will be featured each week. For each of these weeks, the saint will be identified, explored will be the type of martyrdom (red, white, or green) lived, and a reflection will be offered on how their specific way of living imitated the Immaculate Heart of Mary.


Week 1 – Saint Peter Julian Eymard (1811-1868), White Martyr


Quote: “Martyrdom does not consist only in dying for one’s faith. Martyrdom also consists in serving God with love and purity of heart every day of one’s life.” - St. Jerome


The “August Anchor” wearing the white crown of purity is Saint Peter Julian Eymard, whose feast day is celebrated August 2. He is known as the “Apostle of the Eucharist.” Fittingly, the month of August opens with a focus on the Most Blessed Sacrament – the Eucharist, which remains the source and summit of our Christian faith (CCC 1324). Fr. Eymard was a French priest living in the 19th century. His lifelong spiritual dedication, radical self-denial, and deep Marian devotion exemplified what is traditionally understood as “white martyrdom.”


White Martyrdom: Living Radical Faith in Everyday Trials

  • Separation from this World – St. Peter Julian Eymard left a successful and secure path as a Marist Priest, embracing profound poverty and uncertainty to found the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament.

  • Fr. Eymard dedicated his entire life to Eucharistic adoration and reparation, choosing a hidden life of continuous service and contemplative suffering.

  • He suffered poverty and rejection while forming his new congregations. Financial destitution forced him to close and relocate his early houses in 1857 when the Archbishop put the original property up for sale.

  • He suffered chronic serious illnesses including weakness of the lungs, migraine headaches, and shingles. Fr. Eymard suffered a brain hemorrhage and stroke , dying at the age of 57.

  • He struggled with spiritual trials in his early priesthood, wrestling with Jansenism (a heresy which emphasized original sin, human depravity, and the necessity of divine grace, arguing that salvation is limited only to those predestined by God). Eventually, he found peace and purpose through a more joyful, positive relationship with Christ’s love, shifting his focus to a Christ-centered spirituality of Eucharistic love, rather than dwelling on human unworthiness. He embraced Christ’s continuous passionate presence in the Eucharist.


Mirror of Purity: Emulating the Heart of the Blessed Mother

  • Fr. Eymard had a profound connection to Our Lady, whom he believed was the ultimate “Adorer of the Blessed Sacrament.”

  • The hidden life of Mary was one of silence and contemplation alongside her Son, Jesus. Fr. Eymard centered his life on silently adoring Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.

  • He called his followers to mirror Mary’s humility and maternal love, teaching them that the faithful should honor Mary and console her by spending time in Eucharistic adoration.

  • Just as Mary stood firm at the foot of the Cross, she united her heart to Jesus’ suffering. Kneeling before the Tabernacle while in Adoration, Fr. Eymard frequently taught that to adore is to share in Mary’s life. Just as Mary gazed upon the broken body of Christ at Calvary, Fr. Eymard gazed upon the consecrated Host, thus making his own life a quiet offering of obedience, self-denial, and crucifixion. Participation in Adoration serves as a profound spiritual radiation where the soul is exposed to the loving presence of Christ. Here, spiritual insight aligns with the premise that the Eucharistic Christ is the Divine Physician, who reveals, heals, and seals our woundedness.


The lesson of white martyrdom through the lens of Mary teaches mankind how to suffer. Instead of becoming bitter about life’s adversities, learn to cling to God’s love, remaining steadfast, and silently endure daily crosses; this is the recipe to model Mary’s Immaculate Heart — a heart poised to surrender both will and love – a radical stripping of the self that roots out the ego. Fr. Eymard’s life goal was to live in sanctity, and he understood that to accomplish this, daily surrender and abnegation were necessary to obey the wishes of God in action, word, and deed.


Primary Sources & Further Reading


By Patricia Altier - CPO Board Member

 
 
 

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