One of my friends is a Capuchin friar from Kansas who served as a missionary in Papua New Guinea for 30 years. Near the end of his time there he heard the noise of a gang of young criminals invading the mission compound with the intent to rape the nuns and nurses who took care of the mission hospital. My Capuchin friend jumped into his Jeep and drove to the road where the evil doers were. He got in between them and their target so they turned on him and picked up rocks from the roadside and stoned him. His intervention saved the women, but the right side of his face was crushed and he lost his right eye. I tell my friend that the only reason he's not a martyr is because he is still alive.
Did you know that there were more Christian martyrs in the 20th century than all of the other centuries of Christian history put together? Yes, even today people are willing to put their lives on the line for the sake of Jesus. Even today there are people who are so devoted to the Lord that they are willing to go to the most primitive and violent parts of the world to make Him known. Why? Because He matters that much. 
Last Friday evening our Stations of the Cross were done outside. It was a procession from the church to Pearl Street, with the group's members taking turns carrying a sizable cross. What they were met with was ridicule, mockery, and they were spit on.
In your own Lenten journey are you discovering that the Lord matters so much to you that you are willing to bear witness to Him more than you presently are?
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