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

[bpbasilphx]

**i have been so persecuted for standing up for the faith… that i have taken the cowardly way out… **

**Just what do you mean by being persecuted?

When I read about Christian children in the Middle East being beheaded and having their roasted bodies returned on beds of rice to their families, or priests and bishops being shot as they leave their churches, I wonder if we in the West really know what persecution for the faith really means.**

 

[aymanem]

I agree that the west does not see persecution like it is done in the east. But God did not say that those of you who are persecuted in the east are more righteous than those in the west. It is extreme in the east due to the lack of control and law. In america if someone was to roast a body and then deliver it to a house, they would be seeing bars for the rest of their lives, that is why we do not see it as much. Thank god that he allowed you to live in the west where you wouldnt have to deal with the constant fear of losing your life because of your faith. All we have to deal with here is people trash talking us.

God Bless

 

[aymanem]

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 )…

No one can be convinced about the Catholic Church unless they have an open mind to listen. My whole family is close minded. They grew up being taught that Islam was the one true religion and everything else out there is wrong. After 20+ years of them hearing that, it has become truth for them, they dont want to see the other point of view. It is very sad.

 

[beckycmarie]

Sadly much of the persecution has come from members of my own family. Recently my mother-in-law yelled at me saying she doesn’t believe in the concept of mortal sin, and banned any future discussions of religion. She is also Catholic.

Matthew 10:34-37 tells us a lot of persecution will come from our own family:

Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn
" ‘a man against his father,
a daughter against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law -
a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’

"Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.

 

[aymanem]

Matthew 10:34-37 tells us a lot of persecution will come from our own family:

*Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn
" ‘a man against his father,
a daughter against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law -
a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’

"Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.*

Amen Amen, Thank you for showing me that verse, i never caught it when i last read.

God Bless

 

[bpbasilphx]

Thank god that he allowed you to live in the west where you wouldnt have to deal with the constant fear of losing your life because of your faith. All we have to deal with here is people trash talking us.

**Oh, I quite understand you.

But I do believe that there is a time when Christians of ALL stripes in the West will experience the type of persecution Christians in the East have known for centuries.

There is a certain city in the Middle East that sits on seven hills. And it’s NOT Rome, either!

Think about it.**

 

[distracted]

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, .

Sounds like the priest is a saint already… I don’t know how i would react if that happened to me… What did he THANK him for?? Hmmm…

I do know this… that the longer i spend time with Jesus @ the Blessed Sacramnet, the less i care about all the vain things that go on in this world… which means the less i care about… how anyone treats me because i am Catholic… so maybe some day i will get to wherethat priest is…

 

[distracted]

Bagdad?

The new Babylon?

Oil??

 

[distracted]

Sadly much of the persecution has come from members of my own family. Recently my mother-in-law yelled at me saying she doesn’t believe in the concept of mortal sin, and banned any future discussions of religion. She is also Catholic.

Matthew 10:34-37 tells us a lot of persecution will come from our own family:

always “good” to find others who have the same kind of problem… (good because now i know it isn’t my fault… necessarily ?])…

Yeah, my family is supposed to be “catholic” also… and i have the hardest time with them…

Actually, i really don’t… just used to… Now i stay far, far away from them…

Weird thing is… they DO (some anyway) believe in mortal sin… In fact, they think that if they don’t commit mortal sin, they need not worry about all those other, lesser ones… (my perceptions… Only God knows them… but): “You will know them by their fruits…”

Isn’t there something in the catechism that says X number of venials sins = a mortal sin??

 

[kimaz]

Sounds like the priest is a saint already… I don’t know how i would react if that happened to me… What did he THANK him for?? Hmmm…

I do know this… that the longer i spend time with Jesus @ the Blessed Sacramnet, the less i care about all the vain things that go on in this world… which means the less i care about… how anyone treats me because i am Catholic… so maybe some day i will get to wherethat priest is…

He said he thanked the guy because 1.) like Jesus said Blessed are those who are persecuted because of Him, so in other words because somebody insulted him because of his faith he is actually Blessed and 2.) what could possibly have annoyed and confused the guy more?

And I couldn’t agree more that the more praying and Adoration I do the less I care about what others say. Like the guy I wrote about at my job…I didn’t get angry at him, I stood up for the faith yes, but i didn’t resort to ridiculous personal attacks like he did and I didn’t seem to care about his.

 

[KingAlfred]

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…

I feel indirectly persecuted at work. None of my colleagues are religious. Several are admittedly atheists and socialists. They’ve banded together into a boisterous click that dominates the work environment. I refuse to belong, and feel alienated. My supervisor belongs to it, and is one of the worst gossipers and back-stabbers. I feel alone, but keep pushing forward, focused on my job, anchored in Christ.

 

[distracted]

I feel indirectly persecuted at work. None of my colleagues are religious. Several are admittedly atheists and socialists. They’ve banded together into a boisterous click that dominates the work environment. I refuse to belong, and feel alienated. My supervisor belongs to it, and is one of the worst gossipers and back-stabbers. I feel alone, but keep pushing forward, focused on my job, anchored in Christ.

maybe your reward will be great in Heaven…

God bless…