A New Calling
At the end of the thirteenth century, the Crusades had been going on for two hundred years (1095-1291), had taken tens of thousands of lives, and created animosity between Christians and Muslims. (Western Christianity may feel distant from the act of the Crusades, but to radical Islam, it is still a recent memory.) Ramon Llull lived on the Spanish island of Majorca, which, only three years before he was born, was taken by the Christians from the Muslims. By the time of his conversion, however, the crusading fervour was dying down, and one-half of Spain was under Muslim rule. Northern Africa was quickly embracing it. The Christian Copts in Egypt were leaving their faith to join the Muslim conquerors.
Inspiration from St. Francis
One day after his conversion, during the festival of St. Francis of Assisi, Llull went to church and heard a Franciscan friar preach about the lifestyle and love of St. Francis. Like Llull, in his early years, Francis lived like the prodigal son; but, also like Llull, he received a vision of Christ and became a bearer of mercy in Jesus’ name, tending the sick and preaching the gospel, eventually even to the Muslims.
Preparing for Evangelism
Llull was set on fire. He now knew his life’s purpose: to evangelise the Muslims of the Middle East, but not in the way of the Crusades. As he wrote, “I see many knights going to the Holy Land beyond the seas thinking they can acquire it by force of arms; but, in the end, all are destroyed. It seems to me that the conquest of the Holy Land ought not to be attempted except in the way in which Thou and Thine apostles acquired it, namely, by love and prayers, and the pouring out of tears and of blood.” To this end, Llull devised a three-part plan—first, learn Arabic, the language of the Muslims; second, study Islamic literature and doctrine in order to defend the Christian faith with understanding and reason, instead of by force; and, third, to be willing to die as a martyr to bring the Muslims to Christ. He gave away everything except what his family needed and withdrew from the world back to the island of Majorca, along with a slave who taught him Arabic.
For nine years, Llull did nothing but study to prepare for his task—he studied Arabic, Hebrew, Latin, and his native Catalan. In that day, Islam was the religion of the learned, the scholars, and the scientists. He planned to be just as prepared as the scholars he would encounter. Llull knew that the presentation of the simple Gospel to scholars like these would not be enough to convince them.
To Be Continued…
Date: 29th June 2024
Martyr: Ramon Llull
Location: Not specified
Source: God’s Generals – The martyrs
Author: Richard Liardon
Suffering Saturday 097
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