Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and God of all encouragement, who encourages us in our every affliction, so that we may be able to encourage those who are in any affliction...For as Christ's sufferings overflow to us, so through Christ does our encouragement also overflow. 2 Corinthians 1:3-5
Contrary to the belief of many in the Catholic Church of yesteryear, ours is not a private faith. As a new generation of Catholics, we are still recovering from that notion that one does not "impose" one's religion or faith onto others. From where it developed I cannot be sure, only to say that perhaps it was a natural reaction to the persecution many Catholics faced in their communities in the early years of this nation.
Yet, ours is a faith that calls us to embrace persecution. We are called to unite ourselves with Jesus Christ in those moments and allow God's grace and mercy to flow into us, not only to provide us with consolation, but to serve as a witness of the mercy of Christ to the world. Turning to Jesus in our moments of "affliction" we are filled. Uniting ourselves with Him in all things, we continue to fill ourselves not just to the brim so that we are satisfied, but to a point where we overflow with the love and mercy of God so that we can share it with others who need it. If we are not turning to Christ, however, if we take matters into our own hands, our own chasm of need remains too deep for us to proclaim what Jesus has done for us.
Does our cup overflow, or do we just keep a personal stash of Christ's mercy for troubled times? Let us pray, that inspired by the selfless sacrifice of St. Maximilian Mary Kolbe whose memorial is today, we may never embrace a solely private faith - that we may be so united with Christ that his grace, light and mercy spill out of us to all those we encounter.
Come Holy Spirit!
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