“Many Hardships” by Melanie Rigney (@melanierigney)

“Many Hardships” by Melanie Rigney

Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Easter

They strengthened the spirits of the disciples and exhorted them to persevere in the faith, saying, "It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God."  (Acts 14:22)

Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious splendor of your kingdom. (Psalm 145:12)

I will no longer speak much with you, for the ruler of the world is coming. He has no power over me, but the world must know that I love the Father and that I do just as the Father has commanded me." (John 14:30-31)

Piety

Lord, protect me from those on earth who would separate us.

Study

A friend recently found her nonprofit organization under attack… because a prospective client for another of her endeavors noticed she had a pro-life license plate.

Another friend finds herself called a hypocrite in some public quarters because those who oppose her judge that some of her professional actions are at odds with her faith.

I posted on social media a photo with what I thought was an innocuous quote from Elizabeth Ann Seton about keeping our eyes up to spare the pain of retrospection and anticipation and got a snarky comment about the pain of looking back at abuse by clergy.

And I wonder just how many hardships it’s necessary for us to undergo to enter the Kingdom of God.

I know that gossip and “judgey-ness” don’t result in the physical pain that the

Holy Martyrs of Vietnam Church by Melanie Rigney

martyrs suffered (and that Christian martyrs around the world continue to suffer today). I recently visited the Holy Martyrs of Vietnam Church not far from my home, named for the more than 130,000 Vietnamese martyrs died between 1625 and 1886. Some of the executions were relatively quick—beheadings, for example, and being burned alive.

The execution-style I keep returning to is called slicing. It’s also known by the vivid term death by a thousand cuts. Body parts would be sliced away over a period of time. Sometimes, it took three days and 3,600 cuts for the person to die. It was horrific for the martyr. It was also horrific for those who loved them and knew them and worked in ministry with them. It sent a very clear message: Shut up, or risk meeting the same fate.

And don’t public damning and ridicule attempt to accomplish the same thing today? Why should it matter what my friend’s license plate reads? Why do people who know nothing about Catholicism beyond what they read or hear in the news feel qualified to opine that someone’s actions aren’t in concert with Church teachings? Why does a simple quote from a woman who died nearly 200 years ago get tied to sexual abuse?

You know why: because this is how evil works, by a thousand cuts. Sometimes they’re physical, sometimes mental, sometimes emotional, sometimes spiritual. They sting and sting and sting. They’re designed to make us scared and reticent. They’re designed to show others just how ugly things can be for them if they talk the Jesus-talk and walk the Jesus-walk.

How many hardships are necessary for us to undergo to enter the Kingdom of God? A good many, it seems. May we, like those in the early Church, persevere, holding fast to His love, His promise of eternal life, and each other.

Action

Thank someone whose faith is under attack in a small but public way. If you’re in that number, thank you.