Our Persecution And Great Sorrows

Our Persecution, And Great Sorrows

Eileen Renders

As Catholics, we have heard and read about the persecutions, the tribulation times, and believe it will happen. However, we might wonder when these events are to happen, who are the persecutors, and what the sorrows will be.

Finding those answers may surprise some of us. When we are not privy to many of the questions regarding the future, why and how our Catholic Bible speaks of them, we will usually attempt to put it all into sequence in how we “think, or believe these events will occur.” This process relieves our curiosity and brings us a temporary resolution for our desire for answers, addressing the unknown.

In this article, I will share some of what the Catholic Bible quotes Jesus as telling us of these future events, and in conclusion, I will share what I now believe are a part of the “Sorrows” we will live.

Matthew 10:22 Matthew quotes Jesus as saying, “You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.”

Catholic Public Domain Version States Jesus’ words this way, “And you will be hated by all for the sake of my name. But whoever will have persevered, even unto the end, the same shall be saved.

Luke 21:17-19 And you will be hated by everyone because of y name. /Yet not even a hair of your head will perish. /By your patient endurance, you will gain your souls.

John 15:18-21  If the world hates you, understand it hated Me first./If you were of the world, it would love you as its own. Instead, the world hates you, because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world./ Remember the word that I spoke to you: “No servant is greater than his master.” If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you as well; if they kept My word, they will keep yours as well…

Revelation 2:10 Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison to test you, and you will suffer tribulation for ten days. Be faithful even unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.

Revelation 3:10 Because you have kept My command to persevere, I will also keep you from the hour of testing that is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.

Conclusion

1.     Most importantly, we are, according to Jesus, going to suffer, be persecuted because of our faith I Christ. It won’t be Roman armies, but through how we carry our Cross while remaining faithful to our faith in Christ. This testing will be part of how we are judged when our time on Earth is over.

2.     Who will be our persecutors, and what will cause our greatest sorrows? Do not discount that many of us are living our sorrows now. Our beloved children who do not practice their faith and are living in sin, demanding our acceptance, can lead to rejection, isolation, and sorrow because we stand up for Christ. Maybe a young adult is suffering their deepest sorrow through a parent imprisoned for murder, or the loss of their only child through sickness or an accident. We cannot concede our beliefs to satisfy someone's demands upon us; we can, however, pray for our loved ones.