Blessed Are You
The Gospel of this Sunday begins with Jesus moving away from the crowds to be seated alone on top of the mountain. His disciples also moved away from the crowds and went to be with their Master and to learn from him.
From this act of Jesus and his disciples, we learn and understand that Christian life demands from us a daily and continuous knowledge of what we are in the world and obliges us to move away from the crowds and to go be with Christ. At Baptism we were signed with an indelible mark, a seal, that configured us to Christ and we became distinct, set aside for God in Christ. We, like those first disciples should always be attentive to recognize where Christ is and to listen from him out of the noise from different crowds of our time in the world around us.
If we seek true, sincere and decisive action to separate oneself from the crowds and ideologies of our time, and follow Christ, this discipleship even today may cost us oppositions, hatred and even death. That is why the words of Jesus in the Gospel of today are forever relevant. “Blessed are you when they insult and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven”.
The followers of Christ and the Church today are facing violent persecutions and severe attacks from their opponents. Christians-Catholics in many parts of the world are being attacked, insulted, accused falsely and killed. Churches are being burnt and destroyed, and there are many recent examples. In Myanmar on January 15, 2023, an army attacked and destroyed a Catholic Church and killed some people. We also heard what happened in Nigeria two weeks ago when priests were attacked and some were killed. This has also happened recently in the Democratic Republic of Congo and in different parts of the world. The Church has endured attacks and persecutions by different politicians and activists who hold and ideologies contrary to Church doctrine and discipline. In many parts of the world, some faithful Catholic are denied jobs, services, and basic rights. The persecution Christ spoke of is real even today, but to all those facing bravely and faithfully these and other challenges, Jesus says “Blessed are you,”, and be determined, don’t shy away from what you are call to be and call for: bear witness to the truth!
Another type of persecution occurs internally within the Church, and it is directed toward those committed to preserving the true doctrine and right discipline of the Church. Orthodoxy is often compromised by those seeking a “simplified” faith. There is a strong war being waged against the children of the church who are considered traditionalists or conservatives, by their brothers and sister who consider themselves liberals, modernists and even globalists. This type of persecution, this war against the truth of faith and discipline aims at destroying the Mystical Body of Christ. It is causing divisions and destroying unity, but it will not prevail. Christ is alive in his One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic Church.
In this situation, therefore, determined for the blessedness let us be consoled by the words of St. Paul; “Of course some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, others from good will. The latter act out of love, aware that I am here for the defense of the gospel; the former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambitions, not from pure motives, thinking that they will cause me trouble in my imprisonment. What difference does it make, as long as in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is being proclaimed. And in that I rejoice.” (Philippians 1:15-18)
~Fr. Justus