SPIRITUAL LIVING
Prayer and Devotions
Following in the Footsteps of Our King
by Father Paul Campbell, LC
Pray before an image of Our Lady for your final perseverance.
November 28, 2007
Wednesday of the Thirty-Fourth Week in Ordinary Time
Luke 21: 12-19
Jesus said to his disciples: "Before all this happens, however, they will seize and persecute you, they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons, and they will have you led before kings and governors because of my name. It will lead to your giving testimony. Remember, you are not to prepare your defense beforehand, for I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute. You will even be handed over by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends, and they will put some of you to death. You will be hated by all because of my name, but not a hair on your head will be destroyed. By your perseverance you will secure your lives.”
Introductory Prayer: Lord, thank you for this time to speak with you. Help me to use it well and to put aside anything that could distract me. I need you, and I need this time of prayer.
Petition: Lord, give me the grace of final perseverance.
1. You Will Be Persecuted Jesus warns his disciples of the persecutions they will face in the future. They would be barred from synagogues and sent to prisons. They would be brought before kings. Christ was persecuted and killed: His followers could expect no better treatment. Authentic Christianity always provokes persecution of one form or another. In some places it turns bloody, and the faithful are asked to give witness to their faith in Christ with their lives. In other places, persecution consists of slander and ridicule. Good names and reputations are murdered with a thousand lies. The faithful are mocked for believing Christ’s message and ridiculed for living the Gospel.
2. Trusting God Even in Difficulties What should our reaction be to the persecution and difficulties we encounter in spreading the Gospel? God knows that they will come and has planned for them, just as he planned for Judas’ betrayal and his death on a cross. God is God, and he has everything under control. He knows what is going on, and we need to trust him. We do the good that we can do and leave the rest to him.
3. Persevere to the End “By your perseverance you will save your life.” We need to finish the race that we have begun. However, we should have the humility to recognize that at times we might fall away. We grow tired of fighting. We compare ourselves to others. We think of other situations — maybe an easier, more comfortable life. All we see are all the troubles our faith seems to bring us. At these times we need to turn to Christ and ask him for the strength to keep running to finish the race.
Conversation with Christ: Lord, it is hard to keep fighting. Sometimes I’m surrounded by enemies; sometimes the enemy is within me, in my fallen nature. Why am I still attracted and attached to sin? Help me to love you with all my heart, soul and mind.
Resolution: I will pray before an image of Our Lady for my final perseverance.
http://www.catholic.net/spiritual_living/template_channel.phtml?channel_id=6
No comments:
Post a Comment