The Church is persecuted because She demands rights and She imposes duties; because people question Her power and are irritated by Her pretentiousness.
Every age proves the Church, and that is why She exists; and, because She exists every age confirms Her, adding a new ornament to Her young eternity.
Martyrdom is the Church's supreme guarantee of independence. When a person is ready to die, he is free.
Saints are slain to shut them up. Their self-sacrifice is their loudest word. If everything dies except your word, you do not die at all. In the name of the devil they are cursed by evil men, and are thereby enabled to go and perfectly serve God.
"It is pleasant to be in a vessel tossed by a storm while one is sure he will not perish." --Pascal
A. -D. Sertillanges, O.P., Catéchisme des Incroyants, vol. 2, Flammarion, 1930, 17.
Plinthos translation