As Jesus prepares to leave His disciples at the Last Supper, He promises that He will not leave them as orphans. After His death and return to the Father, He will send His Spirit to be with them, in them. This is the 'Paraclete', the Advocate, the one who will stand beside them to guide, teach and encourage them in their mission to proclaim the Good News of the Gospel. For their mission is to give witness to the Gospel that Jesus handed on to them. They, in turn, are to hand it on to others. And they will need not just the teaching but also the encouragement of the Spirit because they will find that many will not accept their message of truth, love and justice. Some will react angrily and violently and believe they are doing a good thing by killing them. This is something we have seen all through the history of the Church. The word 'martyr' means 'witness'. We might ask ourselves to what extent we give open witness to the Gospel. How often have we hidden our Christian identity for fear of criticism or attack?