Ad Jesum per Mariam

By Perseverance, We Secure Our Lives: A Christian Journey

By Perseverance, We Secure Our Lives: A Christian Journey By your perseverance, you will secure your life. What is the ultimate goal of Christian life? Is it happiness? Perhaps happiness is a consequence, but it is not the goal! Is it eternal life? Again, while it may be a result, it is not the primary goal! Is it to love others? Yes, that may be a beautiful outcome, but it is still not the goal! What about receiving praise or honor? No, that too might happen, but it is not the purpose. What is the Goal of Christian Life? So, what is the goal of Christian life? It is to live in truth—not truth as we perceive it, nor as the world defines it, but truth as God reveals it. This question of truth came up in the Gospel we celebrated last week for the Solemnity of Christ the King. In His dialogue with Pontius Pilate, Jesus declared, “I came to testify to the truth, and anyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” When Pilate asked, “What is truth?” no immediate answer was given. Yet we know from John 14 that Jesus had already told His disciples, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” Living in truth means living in Jesus. And Jesus warns us: those who live in truth should expect challenges, sufferings, and even persecution. Parents, siblings, and friends may turn against us. The world may misunderstand or hate us. Yet, Jesus assures us that by our perseverance, we will secure our lives—not merely this earthly life, but eternal life. By Our Perseverance Persecution for faith is not abstract. It happens daily. Some are denied the right to worship freely. Others face ridicule or violence. Jesus Himself tells us that persecution is inevitable for those who follow Him. Hear more within the Homily! Despite this, Jesus calls us to persevere. This perseverance secures not our earthly comfort, but eternal life. Let us pray for those living in hostile environments who struggle to keep their faith. May we receive the strength and courage to endure. And let us pray for ourselves, that we may never persecute others through our words or actions. Listen more to this Homily. Listen to: By Perseverance, We Secure Our Lives: A Christian Journey --------------------------- Image: The Light of the World: American Artist and Painter: Charles Bosseron Chambers: 1919 --------------------------- In 1919, Charles Chambers was commissioned to create paintings for the side altars of the newly constructed St. Ignatius Church in Chicago, Illinois. Among his works was a painting of St. Joseph holding the Infant Christ. A detail from this painting became known as The Light of the World. Between 1920 and 1940, millions of copies of the image were sold. Notably, a print of it is visible on the priest’s desk in the 1948 film The Miracle of the Bells.

Duration:: 10m
Broadcast on:: 03 Dec 2024
Audio Format:: other

"The Lord be with you, a reading from the Holy Gospel, according to Luke." Glory to you, Lord Jesus. Jesus said to the crowds, "They will seize and persecute you. "They will hand over to the synagogues and to prisons, "and they will have you led before kings and governors because of my name. "It will lead you, 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 headed by all because of my name. "But not a hair on your head will be destroyed. "By your perseverance, you will secure your lives." The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ. "By your perseverance, you will secure your life." What is the goal of Christian life? Is it happiness? Is it to be happy? Yeah, maybe that may be the consequence. But it's not the goal of Christian life. Is it eternal life? Yeah, maybe that may be a consequence. But it's not the goal of Christian life. Is it to love others? Yeah, maybe that may be a consequence. But it's not the goal of Christian life. Is it to be praised, to be honored? That may be a consequence. But it's not the goal of Christian life. Now, what is the goal of Christian life? The goal of Christian life is to live in truth. To live in truth. And truth, not as I perceive it, truth, not as the world perceives it, no. But truth, as God perceives it. And as God gives it to us. Then we may wonder, what is truth? Last week, as we are celebrating the solemnity of Christ the King, in the gospel there was an interesting conversation between Jesus and Pontius Pilate. And the longer vision of this conversation we hear. Pilate asking Jesus, "Who are you? Are you the King of Jews?" And then Jesus says, "Are you saying this on your own accord?" Or the someone who has told you? And then Pilate responds. And then it goes, and then Jesus says, "I came to testify to the truth." And anyone who is on the side of truth listens to me. And then the longer vision goes on. Pilate asks, "What is truth?" And no answer is given. But yet, when we read the same John, chapter 14, Jesus tells us that "I am the way, the truth, and life." What is the goal of Christian life? The goal of Christian life is to live in truth. And Jesus is the way, the truth, and life. And today in the gospel, Jesus tells us that those who live in truth should expect challenges, should expect sufferings. They will be persecuted. They will be handed over by parents, brothers, and sisters. Those who live in truth, those who live in Jesus, they will be persecuted. And this is the time for them to bear testimony to this truth without wavering. And he continues to say, "By your perseverance, you will secure your lives." When we talk of specifications, we read in the newspapers, we listen to the radio, watch on TV, we see around us how other people are struggling, others even not being given an opportunity to play well because of their faith. And sometimes, even in our midst, we go through a lot of challenges. I remember, while there was one day I received a phone call from my mom, who was really disappointed? She said, "What has happened, last night there were fields that came, they broke into our church and they stole the Tebenaco, where our Lord Jesus Christ was kept." And a lot of us are confused. They said, "Oh, okay." And then after two days, those that broke into the church were caught. And then they were asked, "Why did you do that?" He said, "We just don't like the Catholics. And we just don't like the idea of the Eucharist, we don't like it." Because today tells us, because of his name, we will be persecuted. Because of his name, a lot of people challenge us. Because of his name, a lot of people may not understand us. They may think we are crazy, but by our perseverance, we are going to secure our lives. One time I went to a small Christian community, where I was celebrating Mars. And in the midst of this celebration, I was a group of men, six in number, who stood on the side. And then they were looking on what was happening. And one of them said, "What is it that you are doing? What is it that you are doing?" You worship idols, "Why are you doing that?" So there was a group of women, and then we had some kids who as can rise to hear that. And I looked at them and said, "You don't know what you are saying." And this tells us, because of his name, because of our trust in him, a lot of people are going to hate us. A lot of people are going to hate us. They may not understand us, but one thing he assures us, that for our perseverance, if we persevere in this, we are going to secure our lives. And the life that our Lord Jesus Christ is talking about is not the Earth's life. Because he has even reported that some of us will be killed. The life he is assuring us is eternal life. We pray for all those living in hostile environment, all those struggling to keep their faith, for strength and perseverance. We also pray for ourselves that we may not persecute others through our ways, through our actions, amen.