It is hard to know what other way men
can come to truth, to lay hold of it, if they do not dig and search for it as
for gold and hid treasure; but he that does so, must have much earth and
rubbish, before he gets the pure metal; sand, and pebbles, and dross usually
lie blended with it, but the gold is nevertheless gold, and will enrich the man
that employs his pains to seek and separate it. - JOHN LOCKE, An Essay
Concerning Human Understanding
Gospel
Text: (LK 12:8-12)
Jesus said to his disciples:
“I tell you,
everyone who acknowledges me before
others
the Son of Man will acknowledge before
the angels of God.
But whoever denies me before others
will be denied before the angels of
God.
“Everyone who speaks a word against
the Son of Man will be forgiven,
but the one who blasphemes against the
Holy Spirit
will not be forgiven.
When they take you before synagogues
and before rulers and authorities,
do not worry about how or what your
defense will be
or about what you are to say.
For the Holy Spirit will teach you at
that moment what you should say.”
Jesus never promised this life was
going to be easy. Remember the line – ‘Blessed are those who are persecuted for
the sake of righteousness’? (Matthew 5:10) We can make it easy for ourselves if
we just ‘go with the flow’ and don’t take the time to learn the truth and stand
up for it. The Church’s teachings on faith and morals are protected and guided
by the Holy Spirit (CCC 888 – 892). If we don’t take the time to learn what
those teachings are we are taking the easy way.
St. Augustine said, ‘If you were
the only person on earth, Christ would have still suffered and died for you.‘
I dare you to let that sink in. He would have gone through all that
pain, humiliation, and suffering just for you . . . or just for me.
If He did that, then I can put up with
being ridiculed for my beliefs. I will keep speaking truth, even if it means in my
whole life only one person changes their mind.
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