Jesus said to his disciples: "If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own; but because you do not belong to the world, and I have chosen you out of the world, the world hates you. Remember the word I spoke to you, 'No slave is greater than his master. 'If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. And they will do all these things to you on account of my name, because they do not know the one who sent me."
REFLECTION
“If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.
Drawing closer to God requires a series of “dying to self” moments: moments lived out in the suffering and death of Christ on the Cross. There will be moments when faced with relatives who disagree with our faith, ridicule you as being too conservative or now refuse to see you, invite you for family functions or who outright tell you that you are too spiritual for them.
St Augustine, St Anthony of the Desert, St Teresa of Avila, St Francis of Assisi, St Ignatius Loyola, St Teresa Benedict of the Cross ( Edith Stein) are examples of transformed lives after their conversions. They are saints we can learn from when it comes to sacrifice.
We might think that we are not saint material. We all are. Small sacrificing or dying to self: quit being selfish, listen to people and their stories, don't talk down to people, keep quiet when insulted or told off, donate time at a food bank or a thrift store, volunteer at various organizations, pray often the PAPA prayer for priests, help out when needed, pray an extra rosary or add an extra day in a novena, pass up on a meal and extend ourselves sharing the love of God to others. These are a few examples of how we can sacrifice at a small level. Always building up and working ourselves to bigger sacrifices.
For nourishment on our journey to God, we receive the Holy Eucharist, Jesus Christ. Many of us do so daily. And we are so blessed. “ We receive in the Eucharist not just the presence of our Lord, but the presence of the Passion of Jesus crucified into our soul. We are united to a body that still bears the marks of a terrible suffering inflicted on it.” (1)
When God calls out to us, will we decide to follow Him and also die with Him? How far will our love for Him take us?
(1) Father Donald Haggarty, Conversion, Spiritual Insights into an Essential Encounter with God.
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