Scripture readings for today's reflection can be found at Friday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time | USCCB
Being a follower of Jesus Christ is not easy. We hear
in our gospel today of Jesus warning His followers that people will hand them
over to the courts and they will be scourged. Further our Lord spoke of family
members, parents, and children, turning in relatives for being His followers. With
that in mind, being a follower of Jesus does not seem to be very appealing,
does it? What are the rewards of following Jesus if all this will happen to
you? The answer is that our Lord promises something greater than the rewards of
earthly benefits. Eternal salvation. “Whoever endures to the end will be
saved.”
Today we commemorate the Blessed Chinese Martyrs from
the 19th century, Saint Augustine Zhao Rong and his companions.
Saint Augustine was a Catholic priest and was martyred for his faith in Jesus
Christ in 1815. He preached Jesus Christ at a time and place that wasn’t accepting
of the good news of Jesus Christ, and as a result, he was put to death. His
sharing the Gospel and the fact that he was a follower of Jesus Christ was more
important to him than his earthly life. Along with Saint Augustine there were 119
more people willing to give up their lives as Martyrs for their faith in the
Lord. They chose to remain faithful to the gospel of Jesus Christ and be
martyred rather than save their mortal lives by denying Christ. There were
bishops, priests, religious sisters and brothers, lay people, boys and girls
and children of many ages that were put to death for their faith in Jesus
Christ. Through their torture and death, they bore the riches of Christ in word
and deed. They knew and embraced the words our Lord spoke today, “You will be
hated by all because of my name, but whoever endures to the end will be saved.”
Two examples given by Pope John Paul II of these
martyrs is Fourteen-year-old Anna Wang and Eighteen-year-old Xi Guizi. Anna, as
she offered to have her head cut off, said, “The gates of heaven is open to
all.” Xi Guizi, upon facing martyrdom, said, “Every part of my body, every drop
of my blood will bring to your memory that I am a Christian.”
All of us are called to that strong faith in the Lord.
We may not be facing cruel torture and death for our faith, but we are called
to share our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ with others in our lives, including
family and friends, no matter the cost. As you share your faith in Jesus Christ
with others, the Holy Spirit will be with you with the right words to bring the
love of Christ to those we are called to share our faith with. As you share
your faith with others, pray that they, too, will receive the gift of faith.
Following is an email from Nilda in response to this reflection:
ReplyDeleteDear Deacon Tom,
I have found your reflection on the Gospel reading of Friday, July 9th very inspirational and comforting. You reiterate on the warning words of Jesus Christ to His followers that they will be handed over to the courts and sentenced to be scourged, as well as the distancing of relationships among family members; all, for the mere reason of being His followers. As you have correctly commented: "Being a follower of Jesus Christ is not easy.” I second that motion…
Yet, there is no more truth to the words that followed: ...our Lord promises something greater than the rewards of earthly benefits. Eternal salvation. “Whoever endures to the end will be saved.”
This is all we need to know; yet, only by the gift and grace of God, I have come to believe on the words of Jesus, used in His Parable of the Weeding Feast, “For many are invited, but not all are chosen.”
Matthew 22:14
You also stated: They (martyrs) knew and embraced the words our Lord spoke today, “You will be hated by all because of my name, but whoever endures to the end will be saved.”
I wish to conclude with the following quote on WISDOM:
For the Christian there is no ‘strange human being.’ He is in every instance the ‘neighbor’ whom we have with us and who is most in need of us. It makes no difference whether he is related or not, whether we ‘like’ him or not, whether he is ‘morally worthy’ of help or not. The love of Christ knows no bounds, it never ceases, it never withdraws in the face of hatred or foul play.
— St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross