Again and again throughout the long pilgrimage of the Church, the Gospel has conquered hearts not chiefly by the brilliance of argument or the elegance of reason, but by the radiant witness of men and women so utterly convinced that Jesus Christ is the Truth that they counted no earthly treasure—not even their own lives—more precious than Him. The blood of the martyrs has accomplished what the sharpest intellect alone never could: it has persuaded the world that Christ is not merely an idea to be debated, but a King worth dying for.