Hostility of the Perverse

I recently bought a copy of the Navarre Bible - Gospel & Acts. It is wonderful! Its commentary is edited by Opus Dei Fathers of the University of Navarre, its approach to Sacred Scripture is so markedly different from the USCCB version I had used previously, that I'm at a loss to synopsize it.

Simply put - THE NAVARRE FATHERS VIEW SACRED SCRIPTURE AS SACRED.

Recently while meditating I came upon the text of John 15:19 which reads:

"If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you."

.

They offer the following commentary from Pope Saint Gregory the Great (pic above):

“The hostility of the perverse sounds like praise for our life because it shows that we are an annoyance to those who do not love God; no one can be pleasing to God and to God’s enemies at the same time. He who seeks to please those who oppose God is no friend of God; and he who submits himself to the truth will fight against those who strive against the truth.”

In Ezechielem homiliae, 9.

_____________

This was true in the time of Pope St. Gregory the Great,

and exponentially so now!

Comments

[Michael]

Absolutely!

[Cristian]

I have to admit that I just don't have the mental wherewithal nor much of a spine any longer to have to fight those who hate the Gospel. It is truly very difficult to try to live the faith and have to defend it at every corner and opportunity. I wish I had the cunning of many good Catholics who can withstand the barrage of assaults from the other camp. I can't believe how the abnormal, immoral and so forth (abortion, alternate lifestyles, defacing one's own body, etc.) has now become the new norm in this crazy society we live in, but, oh well, onward Christian soldiers!

[Batjacboy]

Cristian,

Don't lose heart. The key is not to out-argue them, the key is to out-SMART them. It's a chess game, with Christ on your side.

The odds are always in your favor.

[Cristian]

Batjacboy,

The key to out-smart them if you're gifted with the talent of debating skills. Unfortunately, I've read enough to attempt to offer counter arguments, but my delivery is very poor. And let's fact it, there are topics where only the supernatural aspects of the faith are very clear--chastity, life issues. If you don't have the gift of faith, it is futile to get people to even consider your point. I always say that the Faith is for men. It isn't for the week, myself included, but I try.

[Trust in Him and fear not]

Cristian don't worry about it -we don't have to be clever or articulate; Jesus only asks that we love Him and our neighbour and do the will of the Father He will give us whatever is needed in a given moment. Read the life of Saint Joseph of Cupertino and you will see that in our own weakness God can do great things. The world is preoccupied with youth and talent and intellectual gifts which are to be admired but they are not the most important thing the most important thing is that God loves you and I and that is all we need focus on; and what the world sees as our weakness is strength because we rely on Jesus and He will never fail us-so onward brother in Christ we can do all things as long as we do not take our eyes off Jesus.