Posted by The WORD in other words (2016) by Fr. Roberto “Jun” C. Alda, Jr., SVD – Missionshaus St. Wendel, Germany
Fast of the Holy Family – A
Three of my acolytes in the parish before were children of a catholic family from Aleppo in Syria. They were survivors of a clan of Christian Syrians brutally persecuted by Muslim radicals and endured a very hard and dangerous journey from their war-torn country Syria over the rugged mountains of Jordan and Turkey before they finally reached Germany where they found assistance. They were persecuted because they refused to denounce their Christian faith – a grave threat to the beliefs of the ruling radicals. That was 2006.
Matthew tells us that the holy family experienced almost the same fate in almost exactly the same place over two thousand years earlier. They had to flee for their lives and sought to find rescue in a safer place. The reason was Jesus – the promised Messiah, the savior-king. He was only an infant, and yet he already had enemies that wanted to destroy him. His presence was a grave threat to the established ruler Herod that he could not rest until he had annihilated Jesus. Through Joseph’s faithfulness,who followed everything what was instructed to him in a dream, they survived.
Today, in the 21st century, the persecution of those who believe in Jesus Christ, the promised Messiah and savior-king has not ceased. In fact, it has increased and gotten worst. (See, The Global War on Christians“ [2013] by: John Allen, Jr.; Weltverfolgungsindex 2015 @ www.opendoors.de).
Our Christian faith is a wonderful gift. It is God’s precious gift to all of us. At the same time, it is a great challenge. It has to be lived. It has to be preserved. And it has to be defended peacefully even to the point of sacrificing ones life. The fate of the holy family, the tortures and blood of modern day christian martyrs all over the world and the unbelievable faithfulness of the family of my three syrian acolytes to their christian faith remind me always of the preciousness of my own personal faith in Jesus Christ, my God, my Saviour and my King.
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