14th Week in OT 2020 - Friday - Persevere to the end

After giving instruction to his disciples in his Sermon on the Mount, the Lord, as we heard on Wednesday, names apostles. The word apostle comes from the Greek ‘apostolein’ which means, to send out. So after naming these apostles, the Lord sends the twelve out into Judea to preach, heal, and cast out demons. In addition to the basic instruction of what they are to preach, the Lord takes the opportunity to speak about the inevitable resistance his followers will experience. We heard that instruction today, “I’m sending you out as sheep amidst the wolves…you’ll be arrested and brought before governors and kings, you will be hated by all.”

The Lord’s prediction has certainly come true throughout the centuries of Christianity. The apostles experienced this hostility and resistance, St. Paul certainly did, and so did countless numbers of the faithful.

Resistance to the Gospel, hostility from the world, should not surprise us. Persecution is not a sign that God is displeased with us; rather, it is a sign that we are doing well, that we are being faithful to what the Lord commanded us to do. So we mustn’t back down when things get tough, when the worldly oppose the Gospel.

I saw a quote from a holy religious sister last week, she said, “The Christian should expect to be regularly crushed under the inexorable wheels of history until Jesus comes again. We are not here to be relevant, powerful, and understood. Our challenge is to simply remain faithful to the Gospel, to love our enemies, and to persevere in faith.”

Wonderful words. We should expect to be crushed—to be opposed. Whatever the origin of the Coronavirus, and whatever its actual infection rate, we are certainly seeing the powers of the world take advantage of this opportunity to place unreasonable restrictions on Christians. In certain parts of the country there are more restrictions on Churches than restaurants and bars, let alone strip joints and abortion clinics. And in response to this, many Christians, many bishops, have simply backed down.
But the Lord didn’t instruct us to back down, but to persevere. “Whoever endures to the end will be saved.”

It is evident that the powers of the world are launching a serious attack against the Church, hostilities are just ramping up. So we must pray for each other, pray for our bishops, pray for fellow Christians to take courage, to endure to the end, to continue to preach, heal, and cast out those demons. We are surrounded by wolves, but the Lord is our fortress and our shield. By his grace may we keep the faith, run the race, and persevere to the end, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

- - - - - - -
 
That all bishops and clergy will lead the Church in faithfulness to the Gospel mandate and in the practice of every Christian virtue.
For all those who have fallen away from the Church, those who have fallen into serious sin, for non-believers, atheists, and those in error, for their conversion, and the conversion of all hearts.
For Christians experiencing persecution for the faith, that they may hold fast to the Lord in their sufferings.
For all the needs of the sick and the suffering, for victims of abuse and scandal, for the imprisoned and the addicted, for all those recovering from or undergoing surgery today, and for the consolation of the dying.
For all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.
Incline your merciful ear to our prayers, we ask, O Lord, and listen in kindness to the supplications of those who call on you. Through Christ our Lord