How have you been persecuted for Christ and His Church lately?

[distracted]

i have been so persecuted for standing up for the faith… that i have taken the cowardly way out… and now do most of my evangelizing “anonymously”…

I am praying about whether God wnats me to do anything less “anonymously”… or if what i am doing is enough… I feel i am doing important things that need to be done. .and probably aren’t being done by other Catholics (?)… so maybe i should just stick with that… (?).

It would help if i knew how others deal with persecution… (our “little daily martyrdoms”)…

thanks…

 

[Marc_Aupiais]

Know the price of not standing up- you’d be accepted for what you aren’t, when people would reject the real you

 

[KCT]

Yes, mostly within my family when I make decisions based on what the Church teaches.

 

[MarieVeronica]

God in His Mercy, is sparing me from religious “persecution” at this particular moment in my life. He knows how weak I am… and that I would probably crumble under the weight… due to the fact that I’m struggling greatly, in my day to day circumstances. I praise Him, for His goodness to weak sinners.

But when I was in high school… (back in the stone ages ) I was definitely persecuted at least once… by my “peers”… because I opted to go to Mass, rather than to a party. One particular incident stands out in my memory… of being held up, in a public place… as a “geek”, for not wanting to miss Mass. And several of the friends I was with, at the time… were also Catholic (while a few, were not). And I have no memory of the Catholic friends, defending me.

I do remember that I stood my ground, though it was extremely uncomfortable to do so. And after that… I became known as “the good girl”… (though the title was meant as “uncool”… and not as a compliment).

Even then, the Lord was taking care of me (as He does with ALL who are persecuted in His Name). Most of the friends I mention above, got heavily involved in drugs. Through the Grace of God… I never once experimented with drugs. Sadly… one of my old HS friends, died… last year from accute alcohol poisoning. She was only 48.

If you are suffering any sort of persecution… hang in there. Be true to Christ… because He is always true to us. You are in my prayers.

 

[kimaz]

Persecuted? Not really at least I don’t think so…just ridiculed for it, a former co-worker of my constantly said I was brainwashed whenever I said or did anything that was remotely Catholic…he was also prone to the other usual anti-Catholic remarks. At least I did not take it lying down, I didn’t change his mind but I didn’t run away either.

One of my brothers was also prone to saying a few snide remarks about a month or so ago, but he thinks he is better than the rest of us because he left the Church. And my friends somewhat let me have it when I said I couldn’t go camping on a Sunday because I couldn’t miss Mass. Needless to say we haven’t been the greatest of friends since I came back to the Church. And my youngest brother, who is 11, came home from school one day with one. Another kid, who was Mormon, had told my brother that Catholics weren’t real Christians.

 

[aymanem]

i converted about 7 month ago, my whole family are muslims and you can just imagine how they feel about having a christian living in the house with them, let alone a soon-to-be catholic. On top of all that, its their son/brother. For the past 7 month ive had to deal with all the anti-christian and anti-catholic remarks and all the stuff about being a sell out for dropping my old religion and what not. Im kept from going to church every sunday, i am not able to see my christian friends much, and the worst part about it all is that no one takes me seriously, that i have dropped my old ways and picked up a better way of life.

What do i do in response? I show my family that i have changed. I silently say grace before i eat dinner, i keep my family in my prayers that they may someday see the truth i have been blessed with, i leave my brothers sticky notes once awhile with bible verses on them. I try my hardest to show respect to them and not to get angry when they do or say something against me. If someone persecutes you and you dont do anything back to them, they get frustrated that you didnt respond the way they expected.

If you picture someone punching you, no doubt that person expects you to punch them back, an eye for an eye. If you do punch them back they are satisfied that you hit them back and now they have a good reason to punch you back(and then the fight begins). I hope that made sense a little.

God bless

 

[distracted]

Know the price of not standing up- you’d be accepted for what you aren’t, when people would reject the real you

hmm… interesting…

but the only problem is…

I don’t know the real me either… (until i am in His Presence… and even then… )

But He knows the real me and that’s what counts…

 

[distracted]

Yes, mostly within my family when I make decisions based on what the Church teaches.

yeah… i have the same kinds of problem, except that many of my family members are in the Church… I sometimes feel they aren’t doing much more than warming a pew… They don’t treat me with much Christianity… but o well… i just give it to God… through the saints…

 

[distracted]

. Im kept from going to church every sunday,

you must be very young?

i am not able to see my christian friends much, and the worst part about it all is that no one takes me seriously, that i have dropped my old ways and picked up a better way of life.

Been there… But i just try to remind myself that it is God’s opinion that matters… I’m not saying i am always good at such reminding myself… but oh well… As Chesterton said, “Whatever is worth doing is worth doing badly.”

What do i do in response? I show my family that i have changed. I silently say grace before i eat dinner, i keep my family in my prayers that they may someday see the truth i have been blessed with, i leave my brothers sticky notes once awhile with bible verses on them. I try my hardest to show respect to them and not to get angry when they do or say something against me. If someone persecutes you and you dont do anything back to them, they get frustrated that you didnt respond the way they expected.

God bless

I feel for you… i know what it’s like… As you know, Jesus knows what it’s like too… only 1000 times more so…

Jesus said you will be hated by all because of Him… and when he said ALL, that’s waht he meant… :hypno: uch:

Do you pray the rosary?

Also, whenever you get the chance, it is good to spend time at the Blessed Sacrament… (it is beyond good… ). Have you done that yet??

God bless…

 

[distracted]

And my friends somewhat let me have it when I said I couldn’t go camping on a Sunday because I couldn’t miss Mass. Needless to say we haven’t been the greatest of friends since I came back to the Church. And my youngest brother, who is 11, came home from school one day with one. Another kid, who was Mormon, had told my brother that Catholics weren’t real Christians.

hmmm… you don’t call that persecution…??

God bless…

 

[distracted]

But when I was in high school… (back in the stone ages ) I was definitely persecuted at least once… by my “peers”… because I opted to go to Mass, rather than to a party. One particular incident stands out in my memory… of being held up, in a public place… as a “geek”, for not wanting to miss Mass. And several of the friends I was with, at the time… were also Catholic (while a few, were not). And I have no memory of the Catholic friends, defending me.

Jesus said that if we deny him before others He will deny us before the father… I don’t think it would good for Jesus to deny us before the father… What harm can humans do that would compare to that… It’s amazing how we humans get scared of… things we shouldn’t be scared of and what we really should fear, we don’t… :hypno:

I do remember that I stood my ground, though it was extremely uncomfortable to do so. And after that… I became known as “the good girl”… (though the title was meant as “uncool”… and not as a compliment).

Somere in the bible (where? ) it says “Woe unto them who call good evil and evil good”.

Even then, the Lord was taking care of me (as He does with ALL who are persecuted in His Name). Most of the friends I mention above, got heavily involved in drugs. Through the Grace of God… I never once experimented with drugs. Sadly… one of my old HS friends, died… last year from accute alcohol poisoning. She was only 48.

wow… amazing stories… I’ll pray for your friend’s soul… she may be in Purgatory (?)…

Thanks for sharing…

 

[aymanem]

you must be very young? Been there… But i just try to remind myself that it is God’s opinion that matters… I’m not saying i am always good at such reminding myself… but oh well… As Chesterton said, “Whatever is worth doing is worth doing badly.”

I feel for you… i know what it’s like… As you know, Jesus knows what it’s like too… only 1000 times more so…

Jesus said you will be hated by all because of Him… and when he said ALL, that’s waht he meant… :hypno: uch:

Do you pray the rosary?

Also, whenever you get the chance, it is good to spend time at the Blessed Sacrament… (it is beyond good… ). Have you done that yet??

God bless…

I am 17, i do pray the rosary. What do you mean by spending time at the Blessed Sacrament?

Im going to church today! Yay

 

[distracted]

I am 17, i do pray the rosary. What do you mean by spending time at the Blessed Sacrament?

Im going to church today! Yay

As you probably know, the priest consecrates the hosts at mass and they become the Body of Christ. After Communion, They are placed in the tabernacle by the altar (should be behind the altar…)… The Real Presence of Christ then abides in the Church 24/7…

and you can (when the Church is open) go there and be with Him… Interesting things happen There… which i guess
goes without saying…

The longer one stays there, the better… Again… Goes without saying…

This is the best-kept secret the Catholic Church should not be keeping… I was raised Catholic and only found out about it maybe 10 yrs ago… …

God bless…

Also… just wondering but how did you become Catholic wtih all that opposition in your life??

 

[warriorofpeace]

basically only read your going to church who cares about church hang out with gays

 

[distracted]

basically only read your going to church who cares about church hang out with gays

 

[aymanem]

Also… just wondering but how did you become Catholic wtih all that opposition in your life??

well i havent become catholic just yet, i have to wait till im 18 so i am an adult and can sign up myself to RCIA. But i stopped hanging out with a group of druggies at school and started hanging out with a group of christians. From there i met a friend that invited me to goto his baptist church. I went there for maybe 2 weeks and decided that christ truly was God and that he was my savior. After joining this group of friends i started dating my catholic girlfriend, she invited me to goto church and to youth group afterwards. I went there and the priest was so caring, he answered all my questions and cleared up a lot of things about the catholic church that i was having trouble understanding. From that day on i had accepted the Catholic Church as the true Church of God. I never regret a single thing that i did. I went and told my family and they were(and still are) enraged. But i dont let their feelings and talks get to me. When i am in front of my Lord Jesus, he will know me for what i have lived for and for who i am. In the parable of the wheat and weeds in Matthew, the master tells the workers not to pull out the weeds or else they might uproot good wheat aswell. We are all meant to live as wheats among the weeds until the day of the harvest. In that way, God has allowed us the chance to change the weeds in this worlds into wheats. By living among my families, i make it my mission to do my best to show them the truth. But I cannot convert my family, only the holy spirit can do that, so my job is to be my lords ambassador, if it is his will to show my family the truth, it will happen in time. Becoming a catholic among my family has allowed me to appreciate more and more the meaning of Jesus’ words when he claimed that we will be hated because of him and that we would be persecuted. In islam the person who is born a muslim and then converts is supposed to be given 3 month to repent, if not, they are to be killed. What would my Jesus say if i was killed because i had proclaimed the truth in him? Would i not be deemed a martyr? I have been called to the Catholic Church and to the true essence of Christ, what happens next is not for me to worry about. He died for me, i live for him. As far as my families persecution of me…i think only of 2 verses:

Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. (Luke 23:34)

“If you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you” (Matt. 6:14,15)

I hope that quenches your thirst, if you have any more questions about my conversion, feel free to ask i enjoy answering them. I only wish that i could write a powerful testimony but i tend to go on tangents and my vocabulary isnt pristine enough.

God Bless

 

[Larowyn]

I hear all the time about how much of a bigoted and hateful person I am for being a Catholic.

 

[kimaz]

hmmm… you don’t call that persecution…??

God bless…

Well not really when there have been and are people who have been thrown in jail or murdered for being Catholic. I guess I have always looked at it in the sense that there are others who have suffered much more than me, so I shouldn’t be complaining. But at the same time it makes me sad that many people have such a hatred for the Church and feel the need to take it out on the members of the Church.

I like what my priest said once in a homily about being persecuted for Christ and His Church…he related a story in which a guy had spit on/at him because he was a priest and Father basically said thanks to the guy and treated it as if it were no big deal, because the Lord said “Blessed are those that are persecuted, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (thats a bit of a paraphrase). So thats the way I try to treat anyone who insults me for my faith.

 

[distracted]

I hope that quenches your thirst, if you have any more questions about my conversion, feel free to ask i enjoy answering them. I only wish that i could write a powerful testimony but i tend to go on tangents and my vocabulary isnt pristine enough.

God Bless

you just did write a powerful testimony… Of course I am not the one who needs to be convinced by it… since i have been Catholic (and/or “Catholic” ) all my life… I hope you share your story with others who… can’t say that…

You sound more Catholic than some Catholics i know… When i was about your age, i felt very close to Jesus as you do now… but you are more fortunate because you have the opportunity to learn the Catholic faith and live by it… I wasn’t catechized when i was your age… and got SO lost in false beliefs (like the belief that God didn’t care about me… :hypno: uch: and other such beliefs…)… I fell into deep depression and… well, it is something of a miracle that i got out of all that…

You do have one thing in common with me… I also didn’t (don’t) have support form my family members. Strange thing is, they are all “Catholic”… but “Catholic” with quotes around it is NOT good… So to me, they aren’t very Catholic… (yes, i am showing my bitterness… but really, i forgive them… All that is left is this strange feeling of … Why??
Anyway, God bless you (more )…

 

[Mark_Robert]

I haven’t been persecuted for Christ’s Church. I’ve been persecuted personally by some co-workers.