"Hear me declare with boldness, I am a Christian." (St. Polycarp) Even at the very end of his life, as he was facing death by fire, St Polycarp declared his identity in Christ. How public is our identity as a Christian? In today's culture it is not popular to be so public and as time goes on it may get even worse. Our faith, like a light, cannot be hidden, but must be evident. Always remember the words of Jesus: the one who does not acknowledge me before others, I will not acknowledge before my Father. We are not called to flaunt our faith in Jesus, but we are called not to hide it. We may never be threatened with death. But we will have many opportunities to stand firm in our identity as a Christian in other ways, from avoiding gossiping to not causing scandal by our words and actions, from treating others with justice to going beyond to serve those in need, from speaking the truth in love to confronting the moral evils around us. Jesus never said it would be easy to be his disciple.