Catholic Meditation: Monday 28 April, 2025 - Theme: Dealing with Persecution

Persecuted or persecutor?

What does the bible teach about persecution?
Let us begin with a striking verse from 2 Timothy 3:12. It reads:
"In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life will be persecuted."

Question: Are you the one living a godly life and is being persecuted by the ungodly
or
are you the ungodly one persecuting those leaving a godly life. Are you on the side of the Jewish rulers who persecuted the apostles Peter and John or are you on the side of the apostles who were being persecuted? That is the meaning of the theme for a reflection - are you the persecuted or the persecutor?

Our Blessed Lord was persecuted
and he told his followers in John 15:20, "if people persecuted me, they will persecute you too." And so the early church suffered persecution.
We continue reading today from Acts 4. We read today beginning from the section where Peter and John were released from prison.
"On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them"
Mark the words "reported all." By reporting all, the concern of Peter and John was to encourage and edify the church and to warn them of the coming persecution. So, they shared all that they went through in the hands of the rulers: how they were imprisoned, questioned, threatened, and the warnings. Peter and John were simply telling the rest: this is what is going to happen if we continue to preach Jesus.
Dear brothers and sisters, what you need as a believer is not deliverance from persecution. You will always be persecuted as long as you seek to do the right thing. *What you need is victory and triumph over the persecution.
what you need as a believer is not deliverance from persecution. What you need is victory and triumph over the persecution.
I want you to notice that in this text the church was celebrating victory over abuse. After Peter and John's report they prayed for boldness.
You need to pray to be victorious over insults because there's always be insults. Some of us cannot understand threats, but there'll always be threats. You need to pray for the grace that whenever someone threatens you you won't fight back. So that at all times you can celebrate victory over any adversity from any persecutor.
What of when you are mocked or insulted? When in your heart of hearts you are doing the right thing. Your calling as a believer is to triumph - to be victorious over the insults.

You need victory over verbal abuse, hurts, attacks and insults and you can only achieve this if you pray to be bold in witnessing to your faith.

William Penn has said, "whoever is right, the persecutor must be wrong." 2x

As long as you are the persecutor, in other words, you would be always wrong.

*If you choose to live a godly life, then prefer to be abused instead of being the abuser.
*Prefer to be mocked rather than being the mocker.
*Prefer to be threatened instead of being the one who threatens another.
And,
May God grant you victory in all your battles to stand for what you believe amen.
#eastermessage #persecution #todaysreflection #insults #april

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