Prosperity vs Persecution

Guest post by Adrian Phang, Singapore.

I was having a conversation with a good friend of mine, who happens to be a Protestant. He kept giving examples of Christians who are doing well and he attributed it to God’s blessings. Hearing this, I started to cringe. Something within me felt uncomfortable with that sort of statement. This runs contrary to the life of Jesus and His followers. Every one of His apostles suffered horrendously. All were martyrs, except for St. John, who was placed in a cauldron of hot oil.
What he said doesn’t quite resonate with that!

Upon reflection, I feel that living the life of a Catholic Christian is one where you stand for a purpose even to the point of persecution. It is not all about the warm fuzzy things you get from being part of the “Exclusive Christian Club”. We are after all called to be available for others, and our struggles are opportunities for us to be able to die to self instead of being self-centered.

Something for me and us to think about as we approach the homestretch towards the Easter Triduum.

“Religion is actually not a crutch; it is a cross. It is not an escape, it is a burden; not a flight, but a response. We speak here of a religion with teeth in it, the wind that demands self-sacrifice and surrender. One leans on a crutch, but a cross rests on us. It takes a hero to embrace a cross.”
— Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

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Image: Pexels/PD-US

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