In today's Gospel, our Lord is particularly talking of giving up that natural love for
brother and sister, for a higher love, a higher love by which we even love our brothers and
sisters more than we do on that natural order because we love them for supernatural purposes.
And so the Lord says when he gives us the grace to begin to love in this way, we will go forth
and increase the harvest a hundred times more even in this present age. But he also speaks
that as we go about performing the evangelical works of the church, that is, seeking the
conversion of sinners, he puts one gift in it that is often not considered a gift. For
he says that when we go forth to try to bring the Gospel to all peoples, we will also be
persecuted for our efforts because the truth seems to always be at enmity with the age
and the times and the world. And so we must constantly uphold the truth, especially in
those times and in those places when the signs of persecution are readily about.
And indeed, we see often that persecution is beginning to break out against Holy Mother
Church, not necessarily physical persecution in our own country, but even here there are
signs, but certainly in other countries when others seem to get control, it seems always
the first act that they perform is in some way the destruction of a Catholic church and
the death of those who are either in it or those who practice the Catholic faith.
And so the Lord calls this a gift. He lists it in today's Gospel as a gift because it
is by our willingness to endure even the greatest of persecutions by which we particularly acquire
that which is most precious to the Lord, the conversion of souls. And so persecution, especially
persecutions that lead to martyrdom, are considered by the Lord amongst the greatest of gifts
we can give.
And so let us strive, especially those who have been called to the religious state, strive
always for the conversion of souls by all we do. And most especially, let us pray that
when our brethren are being persecuted in other lands or even in our land, let us pray
that they may not abandon, but they may look at all things in that supernatural light so
that they come to understand that persecutions, no matter how violent they may be in this
world, are not just for the sake of God, but for the sake of the whole world. And so let
us pray that when our brethren are being persecuted in other lands or even in our land, let us
pray that they may not abandon, but they may look at all things in that supernatural light
so that they may look at all things in that supernatural light. And if we do so, we may
be able to win this victory.
And they will be replaced, as our Lord says, with that eternal life in the age to come.
And it is ultimately that which must be our motivation and our goal, to seek union with
him who has come to claim us all for the kingdom of Christ, who has come and performed that
greatest act of love that this world will ever see and that this world can ever see,
the crucifixion and death of its Lord and Savior, that is even its creator.
for it is the crucifixion and death of the Son of God and so it is God himself
who has sacrificed for us in his sacred humanity and so let us pray always that
we may persevere in good times and in bad times that we may be willing to
preach the good the gospel in season and out of season knowing that we must
always be motivated by a supernatural love and so we will avoid those errors
that often flow from a merely natural love even that merely natural love of
those whom we whom we are called to love greatly in this life by their relation
to us as brother and sister mother or father let us always remember that we
must even be willing to sacrifice that love if we are to acquire the love for
which all of us including our mothers our brothers our sisters and our fathers
were created to receive that is the love of God
for all eternity in heaven and so the Lord is simply telling us it is better to
be despised by the world and worldly standards in this life than to be
despised by God when we finally part from this life and come before him as our
eternal judge and so let us pray that all especially in those lands where the
members of the mystical body are presently at this very moment undergoing
persecution in its most violent form and we pray that we may be able to
transform let us pray that they may always give witness to that supernatural
love and if they are called to give their life up for Christ they may do so
willingly and ultimately receive that that which all are called to receive
union with their God in heaven for all eternity
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