Tuesday 20th of June
“Pray for those who persecute you.”
Matthew 5:43-48
How do we feel when people treat us unfairly because of our faith? We may feel resentful or we may ignore those people and stay closer to our friends instead. If Jesus had that attitude, He would have only spoken to His disciples and we would not have had any opportunity to hear the Good News. Instead, Jesus gave us the ultimate example of praying for His enemies, when He asked His Father to forgive the people who tortured Him and raised Him up on the cross. Christian martyrs imitated Jesus by forgiving their enemies as they were being put to death.
How do the persecutions that we face compare? We may be excluded from groups or we may be criticised for our faith, but only our pride will be harmed. In Australia, we don’t face physical threats because we are Catholic. Jesus, please help us to be children of God as you are, help us to rely on the love of our Father, and not on the opinions of others.