The early Christians rejoiced when they were deemed worthy to suffer for what they believed. In those days the Church was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and principles o popular opinion; it was a thermostat that transformed the mores of society.

There is nothing more majestic than the determined courage of individuals willing to suffer and sacrifice for their freedom and dignity.

Christianity has always insisted that the cross we bear always precedes the crown we wear.

unearned suffering is redemptive.

I would suffer all the humiliation, all the torture, the absolute ostracism and even death, to prevent violence