In the Gospel, too, teaches about perseverance. He says his disciples must remain in his word, to keep his word, to remain faithful to his teachings, to persevere in the way he has shown us, and promises that if we do, we will know the truth and the truth will set us free.
We often think of the perseverance of the early Christian martyrs: martyrs like Perpetua and Felicity, martyr-popes like Sixtus and Cornelius, apologists like Justin, our own patrish patron saint, St. Ignatius of Antioch, bishop, were told to worship the roman emperor or die. And they embraced death as an opportunity to offer the ultimate witness to the truth and freedom that comes from Christ. Their choice to imitate their Lord, who freely goes to the cross out of love for us, continues to echo through the centuries, and they give timid Christians like you and me the courage to persevere in the faith in our own time.
Now the pressures we face, might not involve coercion to offer a burnt offering to the emperor of Rome, but certainly we experience pressure to forsake prayer to the one true God in order to give our time and focus to the false gods of entertainment, gossip, consumerism, or the pressure just to fit in with the rest of the increasingly secular society.
How often Christians are being faced with the choice to forsake bedrock basic truths to promote the insane ideas of our culture in regards to sexual morality, gender ideology, and the rights of the unborn! Baptized Christians who have chosen to say the Church is wrong and the culture is right! There are bishops right now in the world who are feeling this pressure: to water down or neglect the preaching of church teaching because some teachings are controversial. God help them, and God help us to keep the word with a generous heart.
Most of us feel daily pressures in the form of stress. And likely, most of us are not praying enough to combat the stresses and pressures. We aren’t studying enough to sharpen our minds against the intellectual onslaught of the culture. We aren’t making use of the sacramentals against the dark spiritual forces which seek our ruin.
The heat of the furnace is being turned-up, and we might not be able to control that. But we can control our prayer lives. Do we seek the presence of Christ with us in the furnace? Do we allow him to sustain us in our trials? Do we allow him to teach us how to survive the fire with him at our side?
Because of their perseverance, Nebuchadnezzar came to believe in the one true God. Such is the power of persevering faith. Don’t give up. Don’t give in. Don’t swallow earthly errors. Don’t worship the false gods of our culture. Souls can be won, hearts can be moved, enemies can be converted. “Blessed are they who have kept the word with a generous heart and yield a harvest (of souls) through perseverance” for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
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That God may be pleased to increase faith and understanding in the catechumens and candidates who approach the sacraments of initiation in the coming Paschal Solemnity.
For those without faith, those with hearts hardened toward God, and for those searching for Him.
For strength to resist temptation, and the humility to sincerely repent of sin.
That through fasting and self-denial, we may be ever more conformed to Christ.
For the victims of the horrific school shooting in Nashville and the consolation of their families, for the protection of our young people from such future evils, for all those with mental and spiritual illnesses which contribute to such evils.
For all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.
Mercifully hear, O Lord, the prayers of your Church and turn with compassion to the hearts that bow before you, that those you make sharers in your divine mystery may always benefit from your assistance.
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