Gospel of the Day
Reading from the holy gospel according to Luke 21:12-19
Jesus said to the crowd:
“They will seize and persecute you,
they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons,
and they will have you led before kings and governors
because of my name.
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 hated by all because of my name,
but not a hair on your head will be destroyed.
By your perseverance you will secure your lives.”
How little we like to be persecuted.
Sometimes we suffer criticism for praying and following Christ, even from some within the Church who do not understand our decisions or our way of following Him. But the Lord tells us today that these situations will give us the opportunity to bear witness, as long as we do not prepare our defense. There is a rule that I don’t know where I learned it, but I find it interesting: If it is against God, defend Him always; if it is against the Church, it depends, assess what may do the most good; and if it is against me, never defend myself.
Applied to Married Life:
Carmen: Our son Carlos has told me again that we have abandoned them with all our praying and the apostolic missions we do on weekends.
Ramón: And what did you say?
Carmen: I told him that they are our priority, to let me know what they need and we will do it, but we ask to have dinner together during the week and many times they are not there, and we encourage them to pray together as a family and they resist, and those are the moments when we create the most intimacy as a family.
Ramón: And what did he say?
Carmen: He replied that he wants more normal plans. I told him to forgive us if we are not being good parents and asked him to meet with us and tell us what he needs because he is our priority.
(That afternoon, his son acknowledged that he was feeling jealous and had judged his parents for that personal resistance he had toward the things of God.)
Mother,
May we only defend God and never defend ourselves in order to have the opportunity to be witnesses of Him. Blessed be the Lord.