Today in our reading from Acts, the apostles rejoice in that they had been found worthy to suffer dishonor at the hands of man for the sake of the Gospel and the name of Jesus. The disciples left the Temple area after they had been flogged and ordered by the Sanhedrin to stop preaching the Gospel. However, Peter and the other apostles continued to preach with great joy and enthusiasm. Their witness and their zeal give us a great example of faith. The apostles rejoice at the dishonor they endured because they had suffered for the honor and praise they were giving Jesus. Often, many of us think that we should not endure any sufferings or sacrifices for our faith. Some of us may say that we are too busy to fit mass into our busy schedules, even when we have three or four or five different choices to go to mass throughout the weekend. Some of us get mad if we don’t get our way or when we have to compromise or accommodate the needs of others. We sometimes would rather criticize and complain instead of offering to help. So many of us in the modern world don't want to be inconvenienced or to make a sacrifice.
Today is the feast day of St Anselm, Abbot of a Benedictine monastery in France in the 11th century, Archbishop of Canterbury in England, and proclaimed Doctor of the Church in 1720. During his time as Archbishop in England, he went into exile twice due to tension between the King and the Catholic Church in England. Anselm is remembered today as not just as a wise, patient Church leader, but also as one of the Fathers of Scholasticism, the theology and philosophy movement he described as “faith seeking understanding.” Anselm once said, “For I do not seek to understand in order that I may believe, but I believe in order to understand. For this also I believe: that unless I believe I shall not understand.” We live in an age when faith is sometimes mocked, where we see people of faith in our modern world persecuted or discriminated against. With the example of the early disciples and the saints throughout history such as St Anselm, may we feel encouragement and edification as we live out our lives as modern disciples of Christ.
No comments:
Post a Comment