Rejected by Those to Whom You Have Been Sent

"If the world hates you, realize it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own. But because you do not belong to the world, and I have chosen you out of the world, the world hates you." Remember the word I spoke to you. No slave is greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you."(John 15:18-20).

Has this type of rejection happened to you? If it hasn't, it is time to pray to see what you may be doing wrong or what you may not be doing at all. Because we are here to follow Christ and Christ was rejected by those to whom He had been sent. Rejected big time. Misunderstood. Not believed. Called a devil when He was God. Called a blasphemer and liar when He is the Way, Truth, and Life. He was especially rejected by the leadership of the day. When Jesus went to his own people in Nazareth, He could not perform many signs and was eventually chased to the edge of a cliff by his own neighbors who wanted to throw Him off.

The cross is rejection by the very ones to whom you have been sent, and it is what we should expect, welcome, and even embrace with joy, because we have been found worthy to suffer for the One we love. If we have not experienced some kind of rejection to the message of the Gospel in some sphere of our lives, then it is time to take stock of ourselves to determine if there is some aspect of our mission that is not being accomplished, or some message we have not been willing to speak about because of the fear of rejection. I know that I have remained silent many times when I should have spoken. The cross is an inevitable part of true discipleship, and at a time when society is literally on the verge of collapse, much prayer, fasting, and boldness is needed.

One of the primary mission fields of our times is praying for and working to advance the Gospel of Life. The most prominent battlefield of the day is the fight against abortion, and one can see that those on Satan's side are growing bolder every day. The often-avoided root of this battle is artificial contraception, and speaking about the connection between the state of current society and the teachings of Humanae Vitae, is a battle not many have been willing to fight. However artificial contraception truly is the root of the tree from which the rotten fruit of abortion receives its nourishment, along with numerous other social ills of the day. I challenge all of us to pick up a copy of Humanae Vitae, read it prayerfully, and see if the prophetic words of St. Pope Paul VI, who proclaimed what the outcomes of accepting contraception would be, do not sound like a photograph of today's society. Because so many have succumbed to the enticement of the sexual revolution and the "convenience" and "necessity" of birth control, this is a very unpopular topic, hence the reason so few speak about it. Few want to hear that a major reason why society is in the current state of confusion and chaos is because of the rejection of the teaching on marriage and procreation found in Humanae Vitae, even among those who occupy positions of authority in the Church and who fill our pews. The walls really come up: one is called a bigot, a Pharisee, high and mighty, and every other name in the book just because one is trying to uphold the longstanding teaching in the Church on marriage and family.

Our Lady of Fatima said that society would crumble if humanity did not "better themselves". And I think we can all agree from looking around even for a moment and taking stock that we indeed do not see improvement in the state of humanity since 1917.. It doesn't take much forward vision to see the trajectory we are on and that it isn't a good one. But everyone has a different view as to what put us here and what will help turn it around. Sr. Lucia de Jesus Rosa dos Santos, one of the three Fatima children, wrote in a letter to Cardinal Caffarra in a 1983 or 84 (it isn't dated), that ended with "Father, a time will come when the decisive battle between the kingdom of Christ and Satan will be over marriage and family. And those who will work for the good of family will experience persecution and tribulation. But do not be afraid because Our Lady has already crushed his head."

We are in this decisive battle now. We need to gather around Our Lady and help her in this fight. We need to reject the lies and evils that keep us away from her Son, including artificial contraception run to Jesus in our repentance, do penance, fast, and pray for others. We need to walk in the freedom of forgiven children of God, bring others to Jesus' Merciful Heart, and not be afraid of proclaiming the truth. We need to work within our parishes in programs that preach the truth about marriage and family, promote those things that help us stay faithful to Church teaching and reject what the world says about topics like purity, chastity, modesty, and the proper use of the gift of sexuality. We need to teach our children the truth about these subjects, and the full true Catholic and Apostolic faith. Our Lady has been calling us from Medjugorje for over 40 years and now through many other visionaries, asking that we put God first ,attend Mass as often as possible, pray from the heart and especially the daily rosary with our families, fast as often as we are able (twice a week on Wednesday and Friday on bread and water or at least make some sacrifice if you can't fast this way all day), do penance, and to speak the truth in love, and help our neighbor. Let's renew our commitment to making the changes Our Lady has asked for, which shows our love for her and Our Lord.

Jesus asked us to pray the following prayer, joining our footsteps to His and blinding Satan through it which helps free others from the grasp of evil:

My adorable Jesus:

May our feet journey together.

May our hands gather in unity.

May our hearts beat in unison.

May our souls be in harmony.

May our thoughts be as one.

May our ears listen to the silence together.

May our glances profoundly penetrate each other.

May our lips pray together to gain mercy from the Eternal Father.