A SPIRITUAL TALK ON THE MEMORIAL OF ST. AGNES. PART 2

6. PERSECUTION AND MARTYRDOM OF CHRISTIANS: A PERENNIAL ISSUE WITHIN THE MODERN CULTURE

Today, Christians are being persecuted all over the world. In the middle East, the persecution of Christians is most fierce. Many Churches have been bombed. Priests and pastors of souls have been summarily executed. Women and children are killed at random; pregnant women shot in the stomach, and children shot in the limbs… Here in Nigeria, terrorists and bandits continue threatening Christians and Muslims alike, and many have lost their lives to the insurgency. Even some of our Chibok and Dapchi girls are still missing. Leah is yet to return to us…

7. WHAT MUST BE DONE
The situation painted above can be utterly paralysing. After all, nobody wants to die. But if Jesus was himself not spared, how then do we think we would be? The world hates us because we bear the name of Jesus. That’s our only ‘crime’. What then must we do? We cannot be deterred. We cannot afford to be paralysed by fear. We must continue to seek out the ‘Macedonians’ of our world (Acts.16:9-10); the blind, the lame, the confused, the political tyrants, the prostitutes, the morally depraved, the jihadists… Don’t worry. Jesus again assures us that they will keep our word because despite the persecution, they kept His (Jn.15:20).

8. DUTIES TO ALL
The message of today also enumerates the duties of children to their parent and parents to their children. These duties are not just socially or physically oriented or informed but more of spiritual impact. The Church advises that parents have all inclusive power over their children. This power has a divine origin and so whoever respects his parents is not just expressing a consanguinian respect but a spiritual and religious one. Thus, the Bible says; whoever honours his parents will be honoured by his own children and when he prays, his prayers will be heard. We are faced with the ills of our youths today, our inability to pay homage to our parents and the elders. As a result, one can see a continuation of this disrespect from generation to generation.

Fr Osho