February 1 – 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time
How many saints expressed their gratitude to God for being persecuted, giving unequivocal proof that they understood this Sunday’s Gospel! In it, we encounter the most sublime preaching of Our Lord Jesus Christ: the Sermon on the Mount. The most sublime, yes, and the most radical. Only divine lips could affirm that blessed are the poor in spirit, those who mourn and the merciful (cf. Mt 5:3-7)…
However, it is only at the end of His discourse that the Saviour presents the most striking beatitude: “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account” (Mt 5:10-11).
Persecution is a blessing! And so, we are in an age when being Catholic is equivalent to being blessed.
On an individual level, what true Christian today does not experience persecution? At work, they endure ridicule for being honest. In conversation, they are left out because they do not soil their lips with indecent words. Everywhere they become the victims of cold stares and insincere greetings from those who see them as strange beings who pray, go to Mass, and are not enslaved to fashion.
In an institutional context, what can be said about the widespread persecution against the Church? It suffices to enumerate the Catholic churches that have been vandalized or burned down in recent years. It suffices to recall that our era rivals that of the Romans in terms of the number of martyrs. Never have so many martyrdoms been so little taken into account. And never has so much persecution been so evident… and so forgotten.
What should we do, then? Weep? Compromise and give in, so as not to lose? Allow ourselves to be crushed? None of that!
First and foremost, we must give thanks. God is writing our injured names in the Book of Life: “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in Heaven” (Mt 5:12). Thank You, Lord, because we are persecuted! Thank You for counting us among the elect!
And our gratitude must go further. It cannot remain a mere act of recognition. It must be transformed into boldness.
In fact, not only are we not allowed to weep, compromise or let ourselves be crushed, but on the contrary, we must form the resolution of facing persecution with valour, of raising our heads when, thinking they are insulting us, they call us Catholics. For it is only with heads held high and a robust faith that we suffer with dignity for the Name of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
As Dr. Plinio stated, “this is the fearless, intrepid Catholic who is not ashamed to follow the Divine Master, to call himself a son and devotee of the Blessed Virgin, to whom he addresses his heartfelt prayer: ‘O Mother of mercy, my life, sweetness and hope. Make me the courageous soul that I must be, imbued with a lion-like Catholic strength, apostolic and Roman, filled with Christian boldness! Thus, O Virgin, my praise of You will be the tribute of the man who, above all, believes in divine truths and fights for them; it will be the praise of heroism and epic deeds. Amen.’”1 ◊
Notes
1 CORRÊA DE OLIVEIRA, Plinio. A ufania de ser católico [The Pride of Being Catholic]. In: Dr. Plinio. São Paulo. Year X. No.115 (Oct., 2007), p.4.
