Powerful Reflection from The Word Among Us

I wanted to share the Daily Meditation from The Word Among Us. It is incredibly encouraging especially for our brothers and sisters throughout the world who are experiencing persecution.

Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. (Matthew 16:24)

A letter to our sisters and brothers who are following Jesus in situations of extreme hardship:

There are millions of you suffering silently—a hundred million, some experts say. You are Catholics and Orthodox, Protestants and Pentecostals, and you live in almost 140 countries in Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East. You follow Jesus as you take up the crosses that come to us all: sickness, financial worries, family problems, and so on. But unlike most of us who are reading this, you also bear the heavy cross of anti-Christian persecution and violence.

Some of you are denied access to good jobs and educational opportunities. Some of you are forbidden to build churches, pray together, own Bibles and rosaries, or speak about Jesus. Your public officials may turn a blind eye when people destroy your property, bomb your churches, and threaten, injure, rape, or kidnap you. Because you bear the name of Christ, some of you face arrest, imprisonment, torture, and even death. At the very least, eleven of you are killed for your faith every day—and that’s been happening for the past ten years.

Brothers and sisters, we honor you for your courageous witness to Christ! You are ordinary men and women who did not choose this cross, and you probably do not think of yourselves as heroes of the faith. Yet every day you put your physical welfare on the line, denying yourselves so that you won’t deny the Lord. You follow him by making what Pope Francis has called the “great and difficult decision” to entrust your whole self to God’s faithfulness. Truly, you are, as the Holy Father has said, “examples for us” and “a treasure for the Church.”

We promise to remember you and to learn more about the struggles you face. We will stand with you by advocating for your rights and by supporting organizations like Aid to the Church in Need and Catholic Relief Services. And we will raise a mighty wave of prayer to heaven, that the Lord will release you from oppression and let you live in his peace.

“Lord Jesus, do justice for your people. Have pity on them, and grant peace to their lands. Lord, let your kingdom come!”