Deacon Tom Anthony

My Brothers,

As receivers of the message of Our Lord Jesus Christ we will indeed cause division. This division will occur within ourselves, our communities, our families, and among our friends. This conflict is not the intent of Jesus but it is because of the exercising of each person's free will. There will be those who reject Jesus and those who refuse to except God's gift of salvation. This will lead to much anger and a lot of confusion when relating to people who choose not to embrace Christ fully in their lives. We see this constantly and have been warned by Christ that this would occur. Throughout Sacred Scriptures this is also evident. All of the prophets were ultimately rejected for what they had to say and thus God was rejected also. Throughout their prophetic life, they struggled against the people that they loved the most. They sacrificed their health and well-being in order to fulfill the obligations of their office. At times they were lonely, destitute, and in fear of their lives. Many died because of their mission.

As we continue our spiritual development, we will find ourselves in conflict with our past. We will struggle to overcome our old selves and our old ways. Even though we did a lot of wrong and made mistakes, we may be more comfortable with them in comparison to the new creations that we have become. This is understandable. It is part of the spiritual battle that we all are engaged in. Even though sin leads to destruction, we are attracted to it because of the promises of momentary pleasure and because of our fallen nature. Yes, we will all still make mistakes but the difference now is that we are renewing ourselves through repentance and contrition. Admitting that we are wrong is also difficult. People prefer to self-justify instead of admitting their faults. Thus we bring division within ourselves which leads to a constant tug-o-war. This will not always feel good or be pleasing to us but it is necessary; just as necessary as Christ's crucifixion. A transformation, especially into something new and different, is always difficult but it is for the better. The rewards will be endless in comparison to living a life without God. If we do not strive to recognize God how can we ever be happy with ourselves?

As we continue our journey of faith, people will notice a difference within us. Our behaviors will change and with that our personality. There will be those people who are uncomfortable with this because they are uncomfortable with themselves. We will be accused of judging others when the only thing that we are trying to do is live a life by and through Jesus Christ. It is actually those individuals who are judging. They were more comfortable when everyone was immersed in sin. They prefer not to examine themselves and feel threatened when others attempt to correct themselves. Unfortunately, when faced with this, they only option we have is to pray for them and preserve our salvation. If they come to us, we may guide them. If they instead choose to criticize, then our words become like pearls in front of swine.

We cannot be frustrated or angry when we are confronted in a negative manner. Just like Christ, we must accept the things they say and do. We then bless them and walk away much the same way Christ did when he was oftentimes reject by those he preached to. This may hurt us a great deal when it comes from those whom we love but they must be allowed to make their decisions. We can show them the light and the way to truth but we cannot force them to walk the path. That is ultimately up to them.

Our struggle is very hard. We are working towards a perfection that we will never reach until we are joined with our God. Yet, it is worth it. As we continue to let God shape us and form us into a more perfect being, the more things will be revealed to us. The more things are revealed, the happier we will be. We will not have to rely on worldly pleasures that we have indulged in. We will have our relationship with God. The missing piece has always been our spirituality. It is something can easily be overlooked. We exercise our body, our mind, but forget about our soul even though it is eternal while the other two are not.

Even though divisions are present in our lives, this does not mean we have to encourage them. We all have so much to work upon in ourselves. Jesus makes this clear in his remarking about the plank in our own eye. It will never be fully removed. There will always be fragments and splinters left behind for us to work on. We are encouraged to just smile and know that Christ is walking with us. There is so much good work to do, why focus on the bad? He showed us how to endure all the humiliation and punishment: carry the cross all the way to Calvary. He will indeed meet us there always.

Deacon Tom