"For he that will save his life, shall lose it: and he that shall lose his life for my sake, shall find it."
--Matthew 16:25
The Church has been persecuted from the beginning. I've blogged before about St Ignatios of Antioch, the disciple of St John the Apostle who was thrown to the lions because of his Christian faith.
We all know about the persecution during by the Roman Empire, but how many us have given any thought to the persecutions suffered under the English, Vietnamese, Japanese and Koreans? How many of us knew that St Thomas was martyred in India?
How many of us have sat down and realized that persecution has been continuous since they crucified Jesus and stoned Stephen? As Christians we've even persecuted other parts of our Church.
In the 20th Century the leading cause of persecution and thus martyrdom was Communism. Today the leading source of persecution is Islamic governments and extremists, followed by Communists, and the third source is Hindu fundamentalists.
Keep the persecuted Church in your prayers. If you want to know what else to do, look here or here.
"Remember them that are in bonds, as if you were bound with them; and them that labour, as being yourselves also in the body."
--Hebrews 13:3
May God bless all who read my ramblings,
Adopt A Catholic Blog
4 comments:
Yes, Christians have been persecuted since the time of Jesus and will continue to be persecuted to the end of time.
We truly must pray for those who suffer persecution for the faith so that they will have courage and perseverance. And we must pray for those who persecute Christians that they repent and be converted.
Thank you for this excellent post.
Speaking of converting those who persecute the Church, I really should have mentioned St Paul. After all, he was on both sides.
Sometimes we are on the receiving end of persecution from family members, too. It feels wrong somehow to classify it that way compared to the physical brutality of earlier ages, but being made fun of or spoken to with withering scorn because of our beliefs also counts.
You're right though Kathleen. And it is that much more painful to cope with because it comes from those you love.
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