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 toget