Are you ready to suffer? In general terms, there are a lot of ways which each of us can suffer, and they are all for our good (even when we are suffering as a consequence of our own sins, it can help us to find penitence!). How about this: are you ready to suffer for your faith? In this quickly degenerating world that we live in, there are more and more things that are rising up against our wonderful faith. This Sunday (in the modern liturgical calendar) is Christ the King Sunday. It is a helpful reminder that Jesus really will win in the end, but it does not mean that we are not called to suffer for our faith.
The last couple weeks in daily Mass we have been reading in Maccabees in the Old Testament about the persecutions against the Jews before Christ, and how they held to their faith regardless of the tortures and trials that they were put through. Catholics in America today have not seen persecution the way that many of our forefathers experienced it. Yes, there are still those out there who are being martyred for their faith in other countries (do not get me wrong), but here in these USA we are quite separated from it.
How would we respond to a widespread persecution that threatens our lives? Would we go willingly the way that our ancestors in the books of Maccabees went? Some of them said directly "just send me into the next life now, because I am not going to give up my faith for anything". Most of us tend to think that we would be able to stand fast for our Lord, but I wonder if we really would. We have been spoon-fed for so long that we have little resistance to challenges. Furthermore, the democratic sense of "I have a say in my life" has so pervaded the culture of American Catholicism that it is hard to imagine most Catholics not asking "can we discuss this first" as they are being led to their execution (maybe we could have a synod and get advice on how to compromise our faith in a way that makes everyone happy?).
In the gospel reading from a few days ago, Jesus warned us that if our faith is not strong now, then it will be too late to strengthen it when the persecution begins. So then, what are you doing to strengthen your faith? If the routine for you is status quo, then only a radical revitalization of your faith will be of any help. If you think you already have a living faith, then it would be good to offer it up to God and ask Him, "show me where I have fallen short of what You want of me" (this protects against the prideful self-justification found in so many who are more devout in their faith these days).
When I visit people in the hospital who are going in for surgery, they often tell me that they have to "psych themselves" up for it. Preparing our hearts and minds is always an important thing when we are getting ready to undergo a difficult or painful experience. All the more so do we need to prepare ourselves for a potential future persecution. Rather than saying we need to "psych ourselves" up, it would be more accurate to say that we are going to "spirit ourselves" up. This would help to remind us that our spirit needs help, and that the Holy Spirit is the One that we are supposed to call on in these situations.
So, once again, are you ready? Will you stand fast in your faith when push comes to shove? The world already hates us, and it has been pointing that out in many and various ways for quite a while now. When it starts to act out that hatred in more violent ways and tells us that we need to deny our faith to save our lives, then each of us will need to make a decision. Will we save our skin, but give up our souls? Or will we entrust ourselves, body and soul, to our Lord Jesus Christ? The choice is yours, but decide now, before the persecution comes.
