How many of us would get in between two people who are about to unload against each other in a bloody fight? Odds are likely that very few of us would consider such a move and would prefer to stay far away from any violence.
Yet, St. Dominic Savio, a young Italian boy of the 19th century, did step in.
He was not afraid to put himself in the line of fire, risking his own life in order to prevent his peers from sinning.
Peacemaker
One day St. Dominic Savio heard of two boys who got into an argument and challenged each other to a "rock duel." Essentially they were to arrive at a certain place and then start pelting each other with rocks. Whoever gave up first would lose, and often that meant severe injuries.
St. Dominic Savio wasn't going to let that happen, as he had a tender heart that was sensitive to any offense that would cause someone to sin.
The Salesians relay what happened next in a short biography of St. Dominic Savio:
Dominic pleaded "You must stop this. It is not right!"
The one of the boys shouted, "You can’t stop us."
"Not until I split his head open..." the other added.
"I am not stopping the fight," shot back Dominic, "but I am asking you to accept one condition."
Taking out a small crucifix, which he used to wear around his neck, Dominic held it up. "Before you start the fight you must look at this crucifix, and throw the first stone at me."
St. Dominic then said to the boys, "You start! Throw the first stone at me!"
Both of the boys refused to throw the first stone. The selfless action of St. Dominic shook them out of their rage and the immediately began to rethink their plans.
"At that moment," one of them later admitted, "all my determination broke down and a cold chill ran through me. I hated myself for having forced a good friend like Dominic to go to such lengths to keep us from sin. To show my regret, I forgave the boy who had insulted me and asked Dominic to tell me of some good priest who would hear my confession."
It was certainly a bold move, but St. Dominic was being authentic. He truly wanted them to throw stones at him, rather than at each other.
St. Dominic also had a firm and strong faith in Jesus Christ. He knew that Jesus would ultimately protect him, and if they did throw stones at him, even causing his death, so be it. St. Dominic was ready to a martyr.
Often we are afraid to intervene, thinking that anything we could do would have no effect. We don't always know that. It's true that there are real risks for intervening and we could end up on the wrong side of a punch.
However, if we think God is calling us to intervene, we need to have trust in God, confident that he is there at our side.
