Monday Musings - What Will Our Times Ask of Faithful Followers of Jesus Christ?

For some days now, I have been reading and pondering excerpts from an outstanding book written by Father Timothy Gallagher, O.M.V. entitled Overcoming Spiritual Discouragement - The Wisdom and Spiritual Power of Venerable Bruno Lanteri.

This is a book I highly recommend.

Given the chaos in our Church, country and world - all rooted in our having turned our hearts, minds and souls away from God and His eternal Truths and, for the most part, in our having individually and as a Church, remained silent in the presence of evil - the following words of Venerable Lanteri which I read this morning, seem most timely:

"I do not live except for the glory of God; to this alone I must dedicate all my abilities of soul and body. And when it is necessary to think, speak and labor for God, to give my very life, let all be lost, let whatever will happen, happen: This I must do."

These were not just abstract words of Venerable Bruno. A time came when the pope was held captive by Napoleon, and Venerable Bruno knew that he put his life on the line in defending him. In fact, he was arrested, interrogated, stripped of his priestly ministry and exiled - an exile he did not expect to survive.

What will our times ask of us faithful followers of Jesus and members of his Body, the Church? What did they ask of St. Thomas More? Of those who live their Christian faith in places and times of persecution? 

'When it is necessary to think, speak and labor for God, to give my very life, let all be lost, let whatever will  happen, happen: This I must do.'

With quiet trust in the Father's love, in the power of Jesus' saving grace, in the courage infused by the Holy Spirit, let this desire, this prayer, arise from your heart too."

My friends, these words of Venerable Lanteri, are not abstract. They describe the times in which we live and the challenge each of us will now face - whom will we serve - God or man?

If we were unwilling to conform our vote to God's Truth - a  relatively easy and safe thing to do in the privacy of the voting booth - can we really expect now to have the courage to publicly offer our lives in defense of that Truth?

For such a grace we pray!