Persecuted

Christ’s death was a warning to the rest of us.  It was designed to intimidate us into being silent.

Saint Peter Sinai

It is a difficult thing to be a Christian or a Catholic.  Immediately after Christ’s death, Christians were persecuted.  In fact, prior to Christ’s death Christians were persecuted because Christ Himself was persecuted.  The religious leaders of His time targeted Him and tried their best to silence Him.  Eventually they succeeded by unjust means – through betrayal and corruption.  They sought Him out illegally because Christ had done nothing that could be attacked by legal means.  And because of this, Christ died.  But He did not just die – He died in terrible pain with terrible embarrassment – a death designed to humiliate Him and silence His message.  Christ’s death was a warning to the rest of us.  It was designed to intimidate us into being silent.

And after Christ was persecuted, then the apostles were persecuted.  Apart from Judas Iscariot – who took his own life in despair – every other apostle (with the exception of Saint John the Beloved) died as a martyr for their faith.  They did not just die – they were killed and tortured under terrible circumstances – crucifixions, flaying, beheading, stoning and all manner of terrible deaths.

Following the death of the apostles the other disciples of Christ died under terrible circumstances.  People were stoned, burned alive, def to wild beasts in the arena for sport and entertainment.  They were hunted like animals to extinction, and yet they did not become extinct.  Rather, they grew in number…

Despite all the terrible risks of becoming a Christian, the Christians grew rapidly and by the thousands.  Humble fishermen spoke to crowds and with the work of the Holy Spirit thousands pf people were moved to convert.  And what did that conversion look like?  It looked like persecution.  It looked like suffering.  They were not told to convert to Christianity and trot along the road without any problems.  They were told that a conversion to Christianity would mean that they would have to take up a Cross and suffer.  And that was at a time when the Cross was not a recognised symbol of faith.  In their Ancient world, a Cross was a symbol of criminal persecution.  It was the form of punishment reserved for the lowest of the low.  Saint Paul the Apostle – who was a Roman citizen – was executed by beheading, as it was illegal to execute a Roman citizen by crucifixion.

That persecution is as much a defining principle of our Christian faith as anything else is.  Our God was Himself persecuted.  And this means that when someone is cruel to me or mean or unkind I have little or no reason to complain.  After all, my mark as a Christian was established in blood and my God was Himself persecuted to show me the way to salvation.  And it is only through Grace that God is able to soften my heart and allow me to endure through any form of persecution that there is…

For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.