Dear Friends of Carmel Mission,
Jesus tells us in the last line of our Gospel passage this weekend (Luke 21:19):
“By your perseverance you will secure your lives”
Perseverance is a virtue that our Savior clearly demonstrated in His life. It is a virtue that we find in the lives of the Saints. Our own saint, Junípero Serra, possessed that virtue in abundance. He faced so many obstacles in his preaching of the Good News of Jesus Christ, and yet he chose to continue to persevere.
During those difficult times in our own life, it is good to pray for an increase in the virtue of perseverance. We may be tempted to throw in the towel, to give in to those voices in our head which question whether our efforts are worth it. On such occasions we could bring to mind the words of our Savior in today’s gospel.
Most people who achieved something good had to face some sort of opposition. In our world today, there is plenty of opposition to the Gospel values of Christianity. We who attempt to follow Christ are like people who are swimming against the current. It requires stamina and strength to keep going. Why do we keep going? Because we know that by so doing, we will secure our lives, I.e.
we will see God face to face, and enjoy a life that is filled with a happiness we cannot even begin to imagine.
Blessings,
Fr. Paul
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