¡Viva Cristo Rey!

I have a joy of reading about saints and their accomplishments and why they entered the religious orders. The first was Padre Pio and it was by mere happenstance where my wife mentioned American Army Airforce officers discussing Padre Pio affecting bombing missions over Italy. Skeptical, I dug into researching this and I did find a British document mentioning a flying priest discouraging American bombers from dropping bombs. Today’s book is Blessed Miguel Pro: 20th Century Mexican Martyr, by Ann Ball.

The author Ann Ball is a Roman Catholic who has written several book on Catholic saints. She is a former school teacher and was an owner of a private security contracting firm in Houston, Texas. Sadly, she passed away in 2008. The book I am writing about was one of her best selling books and was published in 1996 by TAN Books and Publishers. The publisher provides me with what I should expect.

Do not expect a scholarly book as there are no references or any research documentation, and it isn’t dry at all. You are not going to find any sources which is rather sad for me, though it doesn’t make this story untrue. There are 30 pages of images in this 119 page book. While the book lacks sources we do get a hint of where Ann may have gotten some of her material from the acknowledgements. The book itself is an easy read and one that fits well for younger adults. It is not complex and difficult to follow but the opposite. Ann weaves a story that lacks the hitting of an academic writing where you are faced with the data. Her book is more of an amalgamation of stories told by those who knew Miguel or knew stories about him.

If there is one thing anyone should gleen from this book is that Catholicism from its inception has suffered continual terrible persecution. Blessed Miguel Pro lived during a tulmultuous time in Mexico during the Mexican Revolution where priests and other religious were unmercifully murdered by revolutionaries. In fact, the 1917 Constitution of Mexico suppressed the Catholic Church which lasted until 1998 when some of the restrictions placed upon the Church were removed. This type of persecution is not uncommon as we can read how the Bolsheviks massacred priest after priest even when there was no reason to. We can jump to China where Catholicism was attacked and in one story a church was ransacked, the priest imprisoned in a room, and the Holy Eucharist was thrown on the ground. A young faithful Chinese girl would sneak out at each night on her belly and consume as many of the Eucharist she could until she was finally caught and brutally murdered. Japan had its period where Catholicism was persecuted and Samurai who were Catholic had to hide their religious belief. There is England and its destruction of the Catholic Church where many faithful Catholics suffered at the hand of the monarchy. The list goes on. Interestingly, the Catholic Church never died out but came back. Yes, one can look back on the apostles who were executed for their belief to what we see today. This book is a reminder of how close this type of persecution happened to the United Staes and there is no safe state for anyone.

As for Blessed Miguel, the book focuses on her positive attitude and faithfulness and his ministry to the Mexicans until his brutal murder by those whose hatred overwhelmed any appreciation of life. We must be left with the question of “why is the Catholic Church hated to the point of blindless murder without compassion?” What evil compels us to kill others? In the end, Blessed Miguel Pro was victor and his last words still ring today, “¡Viva Cristo Rey!”

There have been a number of books that have had me reflect on the world and how I live my life. Though this book isn’t some great scholarly creation, it has made me think about socialism, communism, hatred, and how we love to justify our ideology. Regardless of your religious conviction or even political leaning this book should be read to make you think about your anger, hatred, violence, and the lies you tell yourself. We are all flawed and when think the taking of any human life no matter how small is justified then we need to know we are lying to ourselves and have become the willing partner of the evil that revels in this horror.

The book lacks the depth due to Ann’s style of writing and goal. Missing is the background that surrounds Blessed Miguel that would provide us with not only depth but an understanding of how tragic his murder was and how evil in thoughts and ideology people can be toward what they do not agree with. The takeaway is how people can do such evil deeds while thinking their self-righteous beliefs are pure and good. For a great analogy, read The Lord of the Rings and learn how Gandalf or even Galadriel viewed the one ring if they possessed it.

Is it worth reading? Yes. It is excellent light reading you can easily finish in a day unlike the book I am currently trying to finish. The biggest downside for me is wanting to know more about Miguel. I wanted depth. If you’re religious you’ll see this as inspirational. If you’re not, then you should see how man’s ideology helps bring out the evil within man. If you get none of that out if it then I am going on the assumption you just blew through the short book without placing any thought to the events within the book.