"Never crushed, never in despair, never abandoned, never destroyed". Thus Paul declares and celebrates the triumph of grace. He is speaking of his own experience, but what he says was true of each of the Apostles. It is also true of every martyr and confessor who has gone through the passion of Jesus in great hope of the resurrection. Paul's words are true of the Church in every age and circumstance. The Church has often been persecuted and "afflicted in every way possible".

The Feast of St James is a reminder that the Church is always a martyr Church, for he was the first of the Apostles to suffer martyrdom. This martyr Church bears witness to Christ just as each of the Apostles bore witness to Christ in life and in death. While the world presecutes the Church, the gates of hell shall never prevail against it. The Church lives forever as the source of grace and the promise of hope for the world. Each martyrdom is a new triumph of grace. As the death of Jesus on the Cross brought us the fullness of life, so every martyrdom shares in the victory of life over death.