Hearts Pounding

Friday evening during Stations of the Cross, I was struck by one particular line in the booklet.  The third station referenced the Gospel of John when Jesus says, “if they persecuted me, they will also persecute you” (John 15:20).  I’ve heard this countless times, yet it was a profound reminder that being a Christian means we will face opposition.  In the US, we likely will not physically lose our lives or experience physical harm because of our beliefs, but we will experience difficulty due to our faith.  Are we willing to follow Christ to the cross? 

On Friday afternoon, my brother was sharing with me an experience he had in one of his classes earlier in the week.  He was in a communication class where, each class period, they have discussions about different topics and portrayal in the media.  The topic of the class for the day was LGBTQ and he had been dreading this day of class since seeing it on the syllabus.  Naturally, the conversation turned towards religion, and specifically the Catholic Church.  Several of his classmates began bashing the Catholic Church and attacking Catholic beliefs, turning the conversation away from the original topic.  My brother shared that his heart was pounding and his mind was racing but he knew he had to say something.  It was apparent no one else in the room was a practicing Catholic or even seemed to be in support of faith.  He raised his hand, all eyes on him, and made a statement of his Catholic faith and the truth of what the Church teaches.  He stood up for Jesus and His Church in the midst of a room filled with people who were totally against faith, specifically Catholics.  And that greatly inspires me. 

Are we willing to share the truth, even if our hearts are pounding and our voice shakes?  Are we willing to stand up for our faith, even when we are the only one in a group or room, alone in our beliefs?  Jesus did not promise us that following Him would be easy and comfortable.  In fact, he promised us the opposite.  And we are never truly alone, because Jesus is with us every step of the way.  Jesus suffered immensely, was beaten brutally and tortured, dying on the cross for you and for me because of his love for us.  Can we die to ourselves in small ways because of our love for Him?

As we continue to journey through Lent, there is no better time to reflect on the cross than in this season.  What small crosses are we being asked to carry regarding sharing our faith?  Will we let the Lord work in us and increase our desire to share the truth? Will we be open to the moments we are being asked to share our faith and the opportunities to speak up? My prayer for each of us today is that we would grow in the gift of fortitude, having the courage to stand up for Jesus and the Church, ready and willing to face whatever comes our way!