1 00:00:00,720 --> 00:00:04,280 Hello everyone, this is Lila Rose and you're listening to the 2 00:00:04,280 --> 00:00:08,360 Lila Rose Show. Today's episode is on the topic 3 00:00:08,400 --> 00:00:12,000 of persecution. Persecution is something that 4 00:00:12,000 --> 00:00:16,560 many of us, or probably all of us in some way or another have 5 00:00:16,560 --> 00:00:21,960 experienced or sadly we have unwittingly or purposefully 6 00:00:22,200 --> 00:00:25,840 caused others to experience. Persecution is a human problem. 7 00:00:26,240 --> 00:00:29,480 It has existed throughout all of human history. 8 00:00:29,560 --> 00:00:32,720 Human beings, we persecute one another and we are persecuted. 9 00:00:33,200 --> 00:00:37,680 It stems from the ability in each of us to commit wrongdoing, 10 00:00:37,680 --> 00:00:40,520 to commit evil, just like we have the ability to commit good. 11 00:00:41,080 --> 00:00:44,920 And the definition of the word persecution has to do with 12 00:00:44,960 --> 00:00:49,400 persistently annoying, harassing, being hostile, or 13 00:00:49,400 --> 00:00:53,720 I'll treating somebody else, especially because of their 14 00:00:53,720 --> 00:00:56,120 religious or their political beliefs. 15 00:00:56,520 --> 00:01:00,520 And it comes from the Latin word persecution, persecution them, 16 00:01:00,760 --> 00:01:06,120 which means to follow, pursue, hunt down, proceed against, 17 00:01:06,120 --> 00:01:09,040 prosecute. So it's a human problem. 18 00:01:09,200 --> 00:01:12,800 And it's especially important to talk about because even though 19 00:01:12,800 --> 00:01:15,680 it may not look like it sometimes in the United States, 20 00:01:15,680 --> 00:01:20,440 we have a persecution issue. We have an issue with labeling 21 00:01:20,480 --> 00:01:26,080 and seeing others as less than or different than and not 22 00:01:26,080 --> 00:01:29,360 wanting to tolerate other people's beliefs. 23 00:01:29,600 --> 00:01:32,080 And it's something that I've particularly noticed in the last 24 00:01:32,080 --> 00:01:34,880 several years. It's a problem on college 25 00:01:34,880 --> 00:01:37,280 campuses. It's a problem in the way we 26 00:01:37,280 --> 00:01:39,840 discuss and talk about topics online. 27 00:01:40,200 --> 00:01:43,200 It's a problem even economically Now. 28 00:01:43,320 --> 00:01:47,160 There are horrific persecutions happening worldwide right now. 29 00:01:47,560 --> 00:01:50,280 I want to mention a couple of them to put this into context. 30 00:01:50,720 --> 00:01:55,680 For example, in Iraq, there are there used to be 2 million 31 00:01:55,680 --> 00:01:58,280 Christians. They are a minority population 32 00:01:58,280 --> 00:02:02,600 and always have been and they are now less than 1/4 million 33 00:02:02,600 --> 00:02:06,240 because they've been killed or had to flee because of ISIS, 34 00:02:06,440 --> 00:02:08,759 because of attacks from radical Islam. 35 00:02:09,520 --> 00:02:11,560 An exam. Another example is in China, 36 00:02:11,560 --> 00:02:13,800 both Christians and Muslims are persecuted. 37 00:02:14,320 --> 00:02:17,160 Recent word got out that there are actually Christian, they're 38 00:02:17,160 --> 00:02:21,000 actually Muslim internment camps and internment camps where 39 00:02:21,000 --> 00:02:25,400 Muslims are put in it by the communist Chinese and there's 40 00:02:25,400 --> 00:02:28,760 very little information about how they are being mistreated. 41 00:02:29,240 --> 00:02:32,720 An internment camp is never a good place to be, but it just 42 00:02:32,720 --> 00:02:37,000 goes to show that religiously speaking and certain minority 43 00:02:37,000 --> 00:02:40,320 groups worldwide are experiencing with persecution, 44 00:02:40,320 --> 00:02:42,320 sometimes to the point of martyrdom and death. 45 00:02:42,320 --> 00:02:46,080 In the United States is a little different, but it's also very 46 00:02:46,080 --> 00:02:48,160 bad. What we see in the United 47 00:02:48,160 --> 00:02:50,680 States, and this is something that's happened just recently, 48 00:02:50,680 --> 00:02:54,320 is large corporations and whole political parties and 49 00:02:54,320 --> 00:02:58,000 individuals who don't want the other side of an opposing 50 00:02:58,000 --> 00:03:02,160 viewpoint or another belief system to be able to even speak 51 00:03:02,160 --> 00:03:06,880 or to even exist. Recently, JP Morgan Chase closed 52 00:03:06,880 --> 00:03:10,560 several accounts of conservative activists with no explanation, 53 00:03:10,920 --> 00:03:13,960 so they shut down their bank accounts with no explanation. 54 00:03:14,560 --> 00:03:18,320 Many conservatives and those who oppose certain leftist 55 00:03:18,320 --> 00:03:22,120 ideologies have been suppressed on social media by the big tech 56 00:03:22,120 --> 00:03:24,640 companies are completely shut down. 57 00:03:24,640 --> 00:03:29,720 There was a feminist in Canada recently who spoke out about her 58 00:03:29,960 --> 00:03:33,760 concern that transgender, the ideology of transgender, was 59 00:03:33,760 --> 00:03:36,920 actually hurting biological women and she was banned from 60 00:03:36,920 --> 00:03:39,880 Twitter. Live Action has been banned from 61 00:03:39,880 --> 00:03:42,920 advertising on Twitter, the organization that I lead, the 62 00:03:42,920 --> 00:03:45,760 pro-life Group, for the last three or four years. 63 00:03:46,560 --> 00:03:49,120 This is despite the fact that pro abortion groups like Planned 64 00:03:49,120 --> 00:03:53,640 Parenthood and other very strong abortion groups are allowed to 65 00:03:53,640 --> 00:03:56,760 do advertising on Twitter. I could go on. 66 00:03:56,760 --> 00:04:00,520 There are so many examples of this sort of entrenched bias in 67 00:04:00,520 --> 00:04:02,640 these companies. But I think one of the biggest 68 00:04:02,640 --> 00:04:06,000 concerns I have is the way sometimes we talk to each other 69 00:04:06,000 --> 00:04:12,040 online or in person, and this culture of shaming or silencing 70 00:04:12,320 --> 00:04:15,840 when you're faced with a position or an opinion that you 71 00:04:15,840 --> 00:04:18,680 don't like. And for those who are listening, 72 00:04:18,680 --> 00:04:24,160 who are pro-life, who believe in their faith, who are Christians? 73 00:04:24,160 --> 00:04:25,840 Not everyone listening is a Christian, I understand. 74 00:04:25,840 --> 00:04:29,920 But many of you are Christians are Catholics, people who are 75 00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:32,440 trying to live in many ways a counter cultural life. 76 00:04:32,440 --> 00:04:35,440 You're not trying to go the way of the culture when it comes to 77 00:04:35,440 --> 00:04:40,080 things like human dignity and sexuality and marriage often are 78 00:04:40,080 --> 00:04:44,360 called and hateful and bigoted and all kinds of names. 79 00:04:44,480 --> 00:04:48,440 And the the hostility towards what you believe in and what you 80 00:04:48,440 --> 00:04:52,520 stand for is often very strong. We saw this outside of a Planned 81 00:04:52,520 --> 00:04:56,360 Parenthood abortion clinic just last month when a state 82 00:04:56,360 --> 00:05:01,480 representative in Pennsylvania in Philadelphia walked up to 83 00:05:01,480 --> 00:05:04,600 three teenage girls and their mother and his name is Brian 84 00:05:04,600 --> 00:05:08,560 Sims and started to harass them, yelling at them, saying that 85 00:05:08,640 --> 00:05:11,600 they making fun of their religion, making fun of them 86 00:05:11,800 --> 00:05:14,040 being outside praying outside of Planned Parenthood abortion 87 00:05:14,040 --> 00:05:15,840 clinic. And he filmed them. 88 00:05:15,840 --> 00:05:19,480 And he told the people that he was live streaming the video to 89 00:05:19,720 --> 00:05:21,200 his followers on Twitter and Facebook. 90 00:05:21,280 --> 00:05:24,920 Facebook that he would give them a bounty of $100 if they could 91 00:05:24,920 --> 00:05:28,560 find the names and identities of these 3 teen girls. 92 00:05:28,560 --> 00:05:31,160 He also mocked an elderly woman who was outside the Planned 93 00:05:31,160 --> 00:05:33,440 Parenthood. This is a state elected 94 00:05:33,440 --> 00:05:35,280 representative and he did not apologize. 95 00:05:35,280 --> 00:05:39,240 He only apologized to Planned Parenthood for violating Planned 96 00:05:39,240 --> 00:05:42,760 Parenthood non engagement rule where they don't allow any of 97 00:05:42,760 --> 00:05:46,120 their volunteers to even talk to pro lifers because they're 98 00:05:46,120 --> 00:05:50,120 afraid that they by discussing the abortion topic with a pro 99 00:05:50,120 --> 00:05:52,280 lifer, they might become pro-life. 100 00:05:52,680 --> 00:05:56,280 So this is just an example among many, but if you're listening, 101 00:05:56,280 --> 00:05:59,080 you probably have experienced times where you felt afraid, 102 00:05:59,320 --> 00:06:03,000 afraid to say and stand up for what you believe in, where you 103 00:06:03,000 --> 00:06:07,400 felt put down or you felt sidelined or silenced because of 104 00:06:07,400 --> 00:06:09,280 what you believe in. And so this is for you. 105 00:06:09,280 --> 00:06:13,040 This is for anybody for any reason that has experienced 106 00:06:13,040 --> 00:06:13,920 that. And I won't. 107 00:06:13,920 --> 00:06:17,400 And I'm sharing this, what this episode is coming from a place 108 00:06:17,800 --> 00:06:22,880 of my faith because I strongly believe that persecution and how 109 00:06:22,880 --> 00:06:26,320 we deal with it comes down to a question of our identity. 110 00:06:26,600 --> 00:06:30,880 It comes down to a question of who we know ourselves to be. 111 00:06:31,240 --> 00:06:36,040 And the reality is if our identity is based in conditional 112 00:06:36,040 --> 00:06:39,240 things. So if our identity is who we 113 00:06:39,240 --> 00:06:42,560 know ourselves to be, is based in, for example, how successful 114 00:06:42,560 --> 00:06:47,160 we are, if it's based in how popular we are, if it's based on 115 00:06:47,160 --> 00:06:51,640 how respected we are, if it's based on how beautiful we are or 116 00:06:51,640 --> 00:06:56,600 well liked we are, or how wealthy we are or how healthy we 117 00:06:56,600 --> 00:06:58,280 are. If it's based on any of these 118 00:06:58,280 --> 00:07:02,920 attributes, then our identity is conditional and we're and when 119 00:07:02,920 --> 00:07:06,480 we're not seen as one of these things, if some we're not seen, 120 00:07:06,480 --> 00:07:09,520 if we're disliked suddenly, if we're not seen as popular, if 121 00:07:09,520 --> 00:07:12,840 we're not seen as beautiful, if we're not seen as successful, if 122 00:07:12,840 --> 00:07:15,880 we're not seen as smart, if we're not seen as whatever this 123 00:07:15,880 --> 00:07:19,440 these attributes are, then that's an attack we will feel 124 00:07:19,440 --> 00:07:21,320 against our identity and persecution. 125 00:07:21,320 --> 00:07:24,640 The sting of a persecution, the sting of an attack, will be that 126 00:07:24,640 --> 00:07:29,720 much deeper and can unsettle us because our identity is rooted 127 00:07:29,720 --> 00:07:33,760 in the conditional and not in the unconditional. 128 00:07:34,200 --> 00:07:39,560 And so I think the core of how we deal with persecution has to 129 00:07:39,560 --> 00:07:44,720 do with what is our identity. And if our identity is as a 130 00:07:44,720 --> 00:07:48,800 Christian, and this is my identity, if our identity is 131 00:07:48,800 --> 00:07:52,560 strong enough and deep enough that nothing, then nothing can 132 00:07:52,560 --> 00:07:53,800 change it. Change it. 133 00:07:54,080 --> 00:07:56,560 And the way to have that identity as a Christian is to 134 00:07:56,560 --> 00:08:01,240 know that we are sons and daughters of God, sons and 135 00:08:01,240 --> 00:08:04,440 daughters of an all powerful God who loves us, who wants to 136 00:08:04,440 --> 00:08:08,520 forgive us, who has come to set us free and who desires eternal 137 00:08:08,520 --> 00:08:10,680 life with us because he loves us so much. 138 00:08:11,280 --> 00:08:14,240 If that's our identity, then no matter what we face out there in 139 00:08:14,240 --> 00:08:17,600 the world, no matter what kind of attacks or trials or 140 00:08:17,600 --> 00:08:23,000 challenges or struggles we face, then we will still be rooted in 141 00:08:23,000 --> 00:08:25,640 the peace of knowing we are sons and daughters of God. 142 00:08:26,280 --> 00:08:29,240 I believe everybody's called to be a son and daughter of God. 143 00:08:29,240 --> 00:08:32,000 God created every single person, no matter their background, no 144 00:08:32,000 --> 00:08:35,360 matter anything about them, for him, for eternal love. 145 00:08:35,880 --> 00:08:38,679 And it's a human. It's the human story, the human 146 00:08:38,679 --> 00:08:42,080 quest to discover our truest and deepest identity. 147 00:08:42,640 --> 00:08:47,360 But if our identity is in the conditional, if it's in how the 148 00:08:47,360 --> 00:08:51,000 world sees us, if the world approves of us, if other people 149 00:08:51,240 --> 00:08:54,000 give us that slap on the back, if other people think we're 150 00:08:54,000 --> 00:08:57,600 doing a good job, whatever it is, it will never be enough. 151 00:08:58,400 --> 00:09:03,320 And then when we face the the pain of letting others down or 152 00:09:03,320 --> 00:09:07,080 being opposed or it's even attacked by others, then all of 153 00:09:07,080 --> 00:09:11,120 a sudden we will feel this existential pain and this crisis 154 00:09:11,120 --> 00:09:14,240 within us. Instead of knowing that we have 155 00:09:14,240 --> 00:09:17,760 the invincible identity of being a son and son or a daughter of 156 00:09:17,760 --> 00:09:20,320 God because that is who we serve and that is who we follow. 157 00:09:20,920 --> 00:09:25,880 We are part of a family of God and everybody out there is 158 00:09:25,880 --> 00:09:29,360 called to be our brothers and sisters and we can choose to 159 00:09:29,360 --> 00:09:32,160 accept that identity or we can choose to reject it. 160 00:09:32,880 --> 00:09:36,440 I want to share an incredible story of somebody who so totally 161 00:09:36,440 --> 00:09:41,600 knew their identity as a son of God that nothing could face him, 162 00:09:41,600 --> 00:09:44,760 not even death. This is a story of Maximilian 163 00:09:44,760 --> 00:09:48,680 Colby, who was a Polish Franciscan Friar during World 164 00:09:48,680 --> 00:09:51,440 War 2. At age 13, he joined the 165 00:09:51,440 --> 00:09:53,400 Franciscan. So he was very young when he 166 00:09:53,400 --> 00:09:57,320 felt a call to faith and to live his life completely for God. 167 00:09:58,000 --> 00:10:02,720 When Germany invaded Poland, Maximilian Colby didn't flee. 168 00:10:02,720 --> 00:10:06,080 He stayed put in order to organize a temporary hospital. 169 00:10:06,400 --> 00:10:09,560 He was ultimately, even though he was there trying to rescue 170 00:10:09,560 --> 00:10:12,240 Jews and he was trying there to try to provide shelter to 171 00:10:12,240 --> 00:10:16,000 refugees. He was also publishing anti Nazi 172 00:10:16,000 --> 00:10:20,600 German publications. And because of the work that he 173 00:10:20,600 --> 00:10:25,240 was doing, he was ultimately arrested by the Gestapo and take 174 00:10:25,240 --> 00:10:28,760 it to Auschwitz. And when he was imprisoned 175 00:10:28,760 --> 00:10:33,200 there, he tried to serve like he had been serving before. 176 00:10:33,560 --> 00:10:37,320 He was subjected to really terrible harassment and beatings 177 00:10:37,640 --> 00:10:39,960 because he was acting as a priest. 178 00:10:40,440 --> 00:10:43,400 But Despite that, he tried to serve and try to love those 179 00:10:43,400 --> 00:10:47,840 around him and tried to cultivate his the faith for 180 00:10:47,840 --> 00:10:50,560 those around him. Well, at the time a prisoner 181 00:10:50,560 --> 00:10:53,600 tried to escape from the camp, which would happen periodically. 182 00:10:53,960 --> 00:10:59,520 And this prompted the guest, the S S to pick 10 men to be starved 183 00:10:59,520 --> 00:11:04,480 to death inside an underground bunker in order to be a sign to 184 00:11:04,480 --> 00:11:07,120 the rest of the prisoners to not even attempt to escape. 185 00:11:07,800 --> 00:11:11,520 And when he randomly during a role called, picked these ten 186 00:11:11,520 --> 00:11:14,960 different men to be starved to death, one of them cried out and 187 00:11:14,960 --> 00:11:19,600 was very distraught and said, my wife, my children, because he 188 00:11:19,600 --> 00:11:22,360 was afraid to die and leave behind his children and his 189 00:11:22,360 --> 00:11:24,880 wife. And that's when Maximilian Colby 190 00:11:24,880 --> 00:11:29,040 stepped out of line and volunteered to take the place of 191 00:11:29,120 --> 00:11:32,080 one of these ten men who had been chosen to be starved to 192 00:11:32,080 --> 00:11:36,120 death. At that time, Colby, Maximilian 193 00:11:36,120 --> 00:11:39,840 Colby and the other nine men were led into the bunker. 194 00:11:39,880 --> 00:11:43,120 They were left there to die. And during that time, according 195 00:11:43,120 --> 00:11:46,640 to the eyewitnesses, Maximilian Colby would pray with the 196 00:11:46,640 --> 00:11:48,640 prisoners. He would be standing or 197 00:11:48,640 --> 00:11:50,880 kneeling, and he would be singing. 198 00:11:51,240 --> 00:11:57,160 And after two weeks of the starvation and the dehydration, 199 00:11:57,480 --> 00:12:00,960 only Maximilian Colby was left alive in that bunker. 200 00:12:01,240 --> 00:12:04,720 And at that point, the guards gave him a lethal injection 201 00:12:04,720 --> 00:12:06,920 because he wasn't dying, and he died. 202 00:12:08,000 --> 00:12:10,880 This is a martyrdom. This is a story that is 203 00:12:11,200 --> 00:12:15,240 horrific, but it also shows Maximilian Colby's peace and 204 00:12:15,240 --> 00:12:19,720 love in the middle of the worst persecution, even to the point 205 00:12:20,040 --> 00:12:23,240 of being willing to take another person's persecution on to 206 00:12:23,240 --> 00:12:25,880 himself. And the only way that Maximilian 207 00:12:25,880 --> 00:12:29,720 Colby was able to do this. And this is something that he 208 00:12:29,840 --> 00:12:34,680 even we know about his life. When he was a very young man, he 209 00:12:34,680 --> 00:12:39,680 had an apparition appear to him of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who 210 00:12:39,680 --> 00:12:43,800 said that she had to offer him 2 crowns, 1 of purity and one of 211 00:12:43,800 --> 00:12:45,120 martyrdom if he would accept them. 212 00:12:45,120 --> 00:12:48,320 And he said he would. So it's something that rooted in 213 00:12:48,320 --> 00:12:54,320 his identity as a Son of God, as a Son of God the Father, as a 214 00:12:54,320 --> 00:12:57,720 disciple of Christ, Maximilian Colby was prepared. 215 00:12:57,720 --> 00:13:02,080 He was preparing in a way, his whole life for martyrdom and he 216 00:13:02,080 --> 00:13:06,200 was living out his whole life sacrifice and love for others. 217 00:13:07,000 --> 00:13:08,080 So. So this is a story that's meant 218 00:13:08,080 --> 00:13:10,920 to inspire us. It's obviously an incredible 219 00:13:10,920 --> 00:13:14,600 story, but it just goes to show that when your identity is so 220 00:13:14,600 --> 00:13:18,040 rooted and who you are and whose you are, and Maximilian Colby 221 00:13:18,040 --> 00:13:21,120 had his eye on eternal life, he knew that this life is not all 222 00:13:21,120 --> 00:13:22,840 there is. So even in the worst 223 00:13:22,840 --> 00:13:26,320 persecution, he did not flinch. He did not reject his faith. 224 00:13:26,320 --> 00:13:28,840 He continued to stand up and serve others, even to the point 225 00:13:28,840 --> 00:13:32,120 of giving his life in exchange for another person's life. 226 00:13:32,840 --> 00:13:36,280 A few things for those that may experience persecution or may 227 00:13:36,280 --> 00:13:39,200 experience challenges. I think it's very important to 228 00:13:39,200 --> 00:13:43,520 ask ourselves in any situation to ask why are we experiencing 229 00:13:43,520 --> 00:13:46,240 persecution? Why do we think somebody is 230 00:13:46,240 --> 00:13:48,440 treating us poorly or is upset with us? 231 00:13:48,800 --> 00:13:51,760 I think sometimes it's absolutely because it is unfair. 232 00:13:51,760 --> 00:13:55,960 It is part of the the way that challenges happen when we are 233 00:13:56,040 --> 00:13:58,960 standing up for what's right. But sometimes perhaps it could 234 00:13:58,960 --> 00:14:01,760 be that we need to improve. We need to improve the way that 235 00:14:01,760 --> 00:14:04,360 we're communicating, the way that we're talking with people. 236 00:14:04,360 --> 00:14:08,000 Maybe we need to be more loving and understanding and what we 237 00:14:08,000 --> 00:14:11,720 perceive as persecution is actually somebody who is, who is 238 00:14:11,720 --> 00:14:15,320 just misunderstanding and asking for more respect and love. 239 00:14:15,520 --> 00:14:17,440 So that's always important, especially for something as 240 00:14:17,440 --> 00:14:20,640 simple as like a conversation with a friend or a chat room 241 00:14:20,640 --> 00:14:23,800 online, leaving comments on Instagram or whatever it is. 242 00:14:24,160 --> 00:14:26,520 Our respect and our kindness towards other people is 243 00:14:26,520 --> 00:14:30,640 essential because if we're being a jerk, then we shouldn't be 244 00:14:30,640 --> 00:14:33,520 surprised when other people are maybe a jerk back to us. 245 00:14:34,120 --> 00:14:36,520 The other thing I want to say here too is if we are not 246 00:14:36,520 --> 00:14:39,680 experiencing any persecution, if you are out there and you're 247 00:14:39,680 --> 00:14:43,320 like, I'm fine, no one's ever been upset with me, then I would 248 00:14:43,320 --> 00:14:46,880 say, are you actually really standing up for what's right? 249 00:14:47,800 --> 00:14:50,760 And Jesus Christ says that blessed are you when they 250 00:14:50,760 --> 00:14:54,640 persecute you for my sake. And he said that no servant is 251 00:14:54,640 --> 00:14:57,040 above his master. So if you are a follower of 252 00:14:57,040 --> 00:15:00,240 Jesus Christ, you should experience persecution at some 253 00:15:00,240 --> 00:15:02,680 point or another. The world will not love you, the 254 00:15:02,680 --> 00:15:04,720 world will hate you. And Christ predicted that. 255 00:15:04,720 --> 00:15:08,400 And he said that the world would hate him so much as it did. 256 00:15:08,400 --> 00:15:10,880 And that's because of our sin that he was even crucified on a 257 00:15:10,880 --> 00:15:13,360 cross. But because no servant is above 258 00:15:13,600 --> 00:15:16,480 his or her Master, we should not expect to be free of 259 00:15:16,480 --> 00:15:19,040 persecution. If Christ was persecuted, so 260 00:15:19,040 --> 00:15:21,920 will we be. So if we are just living like 261 00:15:21,920 --> 00:15:25,000 the rest of the world, if we are just trying to be pleasing to 262 00:15:25,000 --> 00:15:29,080 other people by fitting into their boxes or fitting into how 263 00:15:29,080 --> 00:15:32,440 they expect us to live or talk or behave, then perhaps we're 264 00:15:32,440 --> 00:15:34,600 not actually being disciples of Christ. 265 00:15:34,600 --> 00:15:37,160 Perhaps we're actually not living our truest identity. 266 00:15:37,960 --> 00:15:41,560 I want to share a verse from the book of Matthew where Christ 267 00:15:41,680 --> 00:15:46,240 promised us persecution. He said in Matthew 543 to 48. 268 00:15:46,960 --> 00:15:50,840 Jesus said to his disciples, You have heard it said that you 269 00:15:50,840 --> 00:15:52,720 shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. 270 00:15:53,240 --> 00:15:57,400 But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who 271 00:15:57,400 --> 00:16:00,560 persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly 272 00:16:00,560 --> 00:16:03,280 Father. For he makes his sunrise on the 273 00:16:03,280 --> 00:16:07,120 good and the bad, and causes rain to fall on the just and the 274 00:16:07,120 --> 00:16:10,200 unjust. Before I go on, Jesus is doing 275 00:16:10,200 --> 00:16:12,560 something very radical here when it comes to persecution. 276 00:16:13,120 --> 00:16:16,760 He's saying that not only should we love our neighbor as 277 00:16:16,760 --> 00:16:19,680 ourselves, which is the golden rule, it's something that was 278 00:16:19,680 --> 00:16:23,800 instituted even before Christ. But he is saying that we should 279 00:16:23,800 --> 00:16:26,480 actually love our enemies, not just our neighbor, but our 280 00:16:26,480 --> 00:16:29,240 enemies, and that we should pray for those who persecute you. 281 00:16:29,400 --> 00:16:33,200 This is exactly what Maximilian Colby did, and he's saying that 282 00:16:33,200 --> 00:16:36,720 we should do this, that you may be children of your Heavenly 283 00:16:36,720 --> 00:16:40,200 Father, which is incredible because Jesus here is exactly 284 00:16:40,200 --> 00:16:42,440 reminding his disciples of their identity. 285 00:16:42,880 --> 00:16:45,240 He's saying you are children of your Heavenly Father, your sons 286 00:16:45,240 --> 00:16:49,320 and daughters of God. So you have this identity which 287 00:16:49,320 --> 00:16:52,360 gives you the strength to pray for those who persecute you, 288 00:16:52,520 --> 00:16:54,760 which gives you the strength to love your enemies. 289 00:16:55,000 --> 00:16:58,320 And this unconditional identity as children of God is what will 290 00:16:58,320 --> 00:17:02,960 enable you to pray for those who persecute you and to stand up to 291 00:17:02,960 --> 00:17:06,599 persecution. He goes on and says, Jesus says, 292 00:17:06,640 --> 00:17:09,560 for if you love those who love you, what recompense or what 293 00:17:09,560 --> 00:17:12,839 reward will you have? Do not the tax collectors do the 294 00:17:12,839 --> 00:17:14,839 same? And if you greet your brothers 295 00:17:14,839 --> 00:17:17,480 and sisters only, what is unusual about that? 296 00:17:17,720 --> 00:17:21,440 Do not the pagans do the same? So be perfect just as your 297 00:17:21,440 --> 00:17:25,400 heavenly Father is perfect. I mean, very strong words from 298 00:17:25,400 --> 00:17:28,640 Christ here in Matthew, be perfect, just as your heavenly 299 00:17:28,640 --> 00:17:32,120 Father is perfect. But he's saying that what sets 300 00:17:32,120 --> 00:17:36,560 us apart as Christians is the fact that we are the children of 301 00:17:36,560 --> 00:17:39,880 God and we love those who are our enemies. 302 00:17:39,880 --> 00:17:41,680 We pray for those who persecute us. 303 00:17:41,840 --> 00:17:45,400 This is our path to perfection. So this is extremely important 304 00:17:45,400 --> 00:17:47,640 because what he's doing here is he's transforming. 305 00:17:47,640 --> 00:17:50,480 Christ is explaining the transformation of how 306 00:17:50,480 --> 00:17:53,840 persecution actually makes us become perfected. 307 00:17:53,840 --> 00:17:58,600 It actually teaches us true sacrificial love, loving our 308 00:17:58,600 --> 00:18:00,720 enemies and praying for them. How do we do that? 309 00:18:01,360 --> 00:18:03,160 It doesn't mean we don't speak the truth. 310 00:18:03,160 --> 00:18:05,400 Actually, love asks us to speak the truth. 311 00:18:05,400 --> 00:18:07,760 If we're going to love our enemies, it means telling them 312 00:18:07,760 --> 00:18:11,080 the truth, doing it lovingly, trying to find ways to do it, 313 00:18:11,080 --> 00:18:14,000 but speaking the truth, especially when so many lies are 314 00:18:14,000 --> 00:18:16,600 being told. And it also means that we take 315 00:18:16,600 --> 00:18:19,840 the time to pray for those who are the enemy, pray for those 316 00:18:19,840 --> 00:18:22,840 who are doing the persecution, who are lost in lies, who are 317 00:18:22,840 --> 00:18:25,920 confused. The prayer coupled with our 318 00:18:26,200 --> 00:18:29,760 courage to speak and our willingness to serve, that is 319 00:18:29,760 --> 00:18:33,320 what will help us become like our Heavenly Father, help us 320 00:18:33,320 --> 00:18:36,600 become like Christ. I want to say something else on 321 00:18:36,600 --> 00:18:38,400 persecution here too. I've talked a lot about 322 00:18:38,400 --> 00:18:42,800 persecution from the outside. Obviously the extreme case of 323 00:18:42,800 --> 00:18:46,440 Maximilian Colby and, and the Nazis literally killing him for, 324 00:18:46,920 --> 00:18:50,760 for his face and for sacrificing for others and caring for the 325 00:18:50,760 --> 00:18:54,800 Jews and caring for others. But also persecution can come 326 00:18:54,800 --> 00:18:58,160 from inside of us. And this is actually for me, one 327 00:18:58,160 --> 00:18:59,920 of the things that has been the most difficult for me 328 00:18:59,920 --> 00:19:03,040 personally. So yes, there's persecution from 329 00:19:03,440 --> 00:19:07,720 the opposing side sometimes in politics or in the culture. 330 00:19:07,720 --> 00:19:10,760 And you know, I've had my share of death threats and attacks and 331 00:19:10,760 --> 00:19:12,360 stalkers and all kinds of things. 332 00:19:12,800 --> 00:19:15,600 But for me personally, sometimes the biggest persecution is from 333 00:19:15,600 --> 00:19:21,400 my own, within my own heart. Meaning I feel that in my own 334 00:19:21,400 --> 00:19:26,360 mind, I think negative thoughts, I doubt or I question, you know, 335 00:19:26,360 --> 00:19:30,720 if God is really there. I sometimes I know he's there, 336 00:19:30,720 --> 00:19:34,040 but I, I'm not really thinking the thoughts of God is with me. 337 00:19:34,040 --> 00:19:37,000 Instead, I'm thinking about how things are going to go wrong. 338 00:19:37,000 --> 00:19:41,440 Or I can think about how I'm not good enough or I think about how 339 00:19:41,720 --> 00:19:44,640 life is not as good and you know, there's there's no way 340 00:19:44,640 --> 00:19:47,760 there's a hopeless case. It's just it's despairing or I'm 341 00:19:48,040 --> 00:19:50,320 you beat yourself up because you're upset at yourself over 342 00:19:50,320 --> 00:19:52,200 something. Basically, we persecute 343 00:19:52,200 --> 00:19:53,800 ourselves. There's so many negative 344 00:19:53,800 --> 00:19:56,680 thoughts and Satan loves us. This is a spare thing too, but 345 00:19:56,680 --> 00:20:00,960 it's also a psychological thing. There is a world of negative 346 00:20:01,120 --> 00:20:05,640 thoughts and negative ideas and negative emotions that can hurt 347 00:20:05,680 --> 00:20:10,720 us and that can make a bit we're we're down on us and, and make 348 00:20:10,720 --> 00:20:13,760 us feel like we're not really that son or daughter of God. 349 00:20:14,240 --> 00:20:17,560 And I think from that perspective, it's all the more 350 00:20:17,560 --> 00:20:21,120 important to go back to our unconditional identity and to 351 00:20:21,120 --> 00:20:25,040 renew both of both our heart and our mind in that identity. 352 00:20:25,240 --> 00:20:26,920 And that's why I want to. Close with I want to close with 353 00:20:26,920 --> 00:20:29,120 some tips for how to do that. So whether we're dealing with 354 00:20:29,120 --> 00:20:32,640 persecution from the outside, what other people say about us, 355 00:20:32,640 --> 00:20:35,760 what other people do, or we're experiencing persecution from 356 00:20:35,760 --> 00:20:38,760 the inside, those negative voices that may come in our head 357 00:20:38,760 --> 00:20:41,720 or our heart or those negative feelings that we may face. 358 00:20:42,320 --> 00:20:46,320 So the tips I want to share for protecting our unconditional 359 00:20:46,320 --> 00:20:49,760 identity, first of all, and our unconditional identity is what 360 00:20:49,760 --> 00:20:52,680 we're sons and daughters of God. We're destined for eternal life 361 00:20:52,680 --> 00:20:55,040 and eternal love with God. We are forgiven, we are 362 00:20:55,040 --> 00:20:57,760 redeemed, we are set free. That's our unconditional 363 00:20:57,760 --> 00:20:59,840 identity. And before God, we are his 364 00:20:59,840 --> 00:21:06,120 beautiful, most beloved and and forever to be enjoyed in heaven 365 00:21:06,120 --> 00:21:10,240 forever sons and daughters #1 tip for protecting our 366 00:21:10,240 --> 00:21:14,400 unconditional identity. It is necessary for us as humans 367 00:21:14,520 --> 00:21:18,640 to find community who are like minded and who share our beliefs 368 00:21:18,640 --> 00:21:22,040 so that we can grow with and that we can grow from their 369 00:21:22,120 --> 00:21:24,440 influence. We need other people. 370 00:21:24,440 --> 00:21:27,160 We are made for community. We're not made to go it alone. 371 00:21:27,640 --> 00:21:30,320 We become, you may have heard it said that we become most like 372 00:21:30,320 --> 00:21:32,840 the five people we spend the most amount of time with. 373 00:21:32,840 --> 00:21:34,800 You may have heard that. Well, I think it's true. 374 00:21:34,800 --> 00:21:37,280 The people that we spend the most time with, the people that 375 00:21:37,280 --> 00:21:40,960 we who are are confidants, the people that who we confide and 376 00:21:40,960 --> 00:21:44,440 we share our soul with, these are the people that influence 377 00:21:44,440 --> 00:21:46,320 us. And of course we can influence 378 00:21:46,320 --> 00:21:48,400 them. And what I'm saying here is not 379 00:21:48,400 --> 00:21:50,800 that we can't have friends who disagree with us or who have 380 00:21:50,800 --> 00:21:53,160 different beliefs and that we can't have very close 381 00:21:53,160 --> 00:21:56,360 relationships with those that are maybe very different from 382 00:21:56,360 --> 00:21:58,280 us. But I'm saying that we need 383 00:21:58,280 --> 00:22:01,640 community of those who are on the same path, who believe 384 00:22:01,640 --> 00:22:04,240 themselves to be sons and daughters of God, who are trying 385 00:22:04,240 --> 00:22:07,720 to actually follow Christ and fulfill his commandments. 386 00:22:08,080 --> 00:22:10,840 And who are going to help us become the men and the women we 387 00:22:10,840 --> 00:22:13,360 are created to be. Who are going to help strengthen 388 00:22:13,360 --> 00:22:17,200 our beliefs, belief in God and strengthen our good habits and 389 00:22:17,200 --> 00:22:21,720 strengthen what we do, what the good that we can do and who are 390 00:22:21,720 --> 00:22:24,320 on that journey with us. So this is something that can be 391 00:22:24,320 --> 00:22:28,240 found in churches. It can be found in young adults 392 00:22:28,240 --> 00:22:30,280 group. You can, you know, find a close 393 00:22:30,280 --> 00:22:31,960 group of friends in the pro-life movement. 394 00:22:31,960 --> 00:22:34,200 If you're involved in that, finding some folks who are on 395 00:22:34,200 --> 00:22:37,840 the same page. There's even online groups or 396 00:22:38,080 --> 00:22:40,880 that you can join to at least first connect with people. 397 00:22:40,880 --> 00:22:43,480 Of course, I think our community needs to be in person. 398 00:22:43,480 --> 00:22:45,120 We need to be in the flesh with each other. 399 00:22:45,440 --> 00:22:47,080 But there are people out there like you. 400 00:22:47,440 --> 00:22:51,760 There are people out there who want to be disciples of Christ 401 00:22:51,760 --> 00:22:56,200 and who believe the truth about life and sex and the dignity of 402 00:22:56,200 --> 00:22:59,000 the person and all of these things that are so controversial 403 00:22:59,000 --> 00:23:04,240 today about abortion and about how sex is for marriage and 404 00:23:04,240 --> 00:23:10,240 about God and and his love. So find those people and if you 405 00:23:10,240 --> 00:23:13,920 are struggling to find them, then look around at the 406 00:23:13,920 --> 00:23:17,440 communities close to you, whether it's churches or your 407 00:23:17,440 --> 00:23:21,200 local young adults group if you're a young adult, because 408 00:23:21,200 --> 00:23:24,240 they are out there and don't give up until will you find that 409 00:23:24,240 --> 00:23:25,920 group. It can be just a couple people, 410 00:23:25,920 --> 00:23:29,280 but people that you can become friends with that will be on the 411 00:23:29,280 --> 00:23:32,200 same page with you. We were made for community or a 412 00:23:32,200 --> 00:23:33,760 family. People in our family who might 413 00:23:33,760 --> 00:23:38,400 be on the same page that we can be close with #2 is having a 414 00:23:38,400 --> 00:23:41,960 relationship with Christ. It's really impossible to be 415 00:23:41,960 --> 00:23:45,000 rooted in our identity as a son and daughter of God if we don't 416 00:23:45,000 --> 00:23:48,400 have a relationship with Christ. We absolutely need to cultivate 417 00:23:48,640 --> 00:23:52,080 that friendship with Christ. So what does that look like to 418 00:23:52,080 --> 00:23:54,920 really identify with Him and have a friendship with Him? 419 00:23:55,360 --> 00:23:58,640 Well, first of all, there's three things I'm going to share, 420 00:23:58,640 --> 00:24:03,000 but I want to 1st caveat it and say a relationship with God is 421 00:24:03,000 --> 00:24:07,240 not just about our feelings or our subjective experiences. 422 00:24:07,840 --> 00:24:12,800 Obviously those things matter and we can use them to help draw 423 00:24:12,800 --> 00:24:15,720 closer to God, but sometimes we have bad feelings. 424 00:24:15,720 --> 00:24:18,360 Sometimes there's an experience we didn't understand that makes 425 00:24:18,360 --> 00:24:22,000 this question what we have to go back to in a relationship with 426 00:24:22,000 --> 00:24:25,480 Christ is 3 things. First of all, prayer. 427 00:24:25,800 --> 00:24:28,960 Second of all, study and what God has to say, which is the 428 00:24:28,960 --> 00:24:32,120 Bible and the Magisterium of the faith. 429 00:24:32,160 --> 00:24:35,960 And the third thing or the the, the extrapolation of what that 430 00:24:36,120 --> 00:24:39,400 teaching of Christ really is. And then the third thing is the 431 00:24:39,400 --> 00:24:41,040 sacraments. And to explain each one. 432 00:24:41,040 --> 00:24:43,560 First of all, prayer you actually, we actually need to 433 00:24:43,560 --> 00:24:49,320 spend time talking to God and trying to listen in silence for 434 00:24:49,320 --> 00:24:52,880 God in order to actually deepen that relationship with him. 435 00:24:53,280 --> 00:24:56,360 And this means taking the time each day set aside. 436 00:24:56,640 --> 00:25:00,560 Some of you may go to daily mass or other services or some of you 437 00:25:00,560 --> 00:25:03,400 may just have your 10 minutes or 30 minutes of quiet time. 438 00:25:03,760 --> 00:25:07,200 But taking that time to actually sit with God, to share your 439 00:25:07,200 --> 00:25:09,800 heart with them, to ask for forgiveness for the things that 440 00:25:09,800 --> 00:25:13,680 you need forgiveness for, to give the difficulties to him, to 441 00:25:13,680 --> 00:25:17,280 praise him, to thank him, to meditate on the good that he has 442 00:25:17,280 --> 00:25:19,080 done, to meditate on his promises. 443 00:25:19,280 --> 00:25:23,240 We need to take time for prayer. The second thing is study of his 444 00:25:23,240 --> 00:25:26,720 teachings of Christ teachings. We need to familiarize ourselves 445 00:25:26,720 --> 00:25:29,600 with the life of Christ, read the gospels, know the Bible, 446 00:25:29,600 --> 00:25:32,760 understand what Christ was saying by taking time to 447 00:25:32,760 --> 00:25:35,920 actually sit with it and study it and read commentary on it. 448 00:25:36,520 --> 00:25:39,080 If we don't understand the life of Christ, it's probably because 449 00:25:39,080 --> 00:25:40,800 we haven't taken enough time to try. 450 00:25:40,800 --> 00:25:43,120 And I'm not saying we will completely understand the life 451 00:25:43,120 --> 00:25:46,440 of Christ, but we can grow an understanding by taking the time 452 00:25:46,440 --> 00:25:50,040 to study it, taking the time to learn it, taking the time to 453 00:25:50,040 --> 00:25:54,080 study Christ's life and also the teachings of his church. 454 00:25:54,080 --> 00:25:57,360 Study what are the teachings about life and sexuality and 455 00:25:57,360 --> 00:26:00,440 marriage and how we are to live and how we are to serve and what 456 00:26:00,440 --> 00:26:03,840 it means to be a disciple. So that takes study. 457 00:26:03,840 --> 00:26:06,080 So we need to take time for prayer, take time for study, 458 00:26:06,320 --> 00:26:09,040 and, and the last thing about having a relationship with 459 00:26:09,040 --> 00:26:11,920 Christ is the sacraments. This is something that these are 460 00:26:11,920 --> 00:26:15,880 things that Christ instituted for us to be close to him in a 461 00:26:15,880 --> 00:26:20,000 very physical way. So baptism is the first 462 00:26:20,000 --> 00:26:24,080 sacrament that we have and it's something that some of us 463 00:26:24,080 --> 00:26:25,920 received as children. Some of us chose it as 464 00:26:25,920 --> 00:26:28,960 teenagers, depending on how we were raised or maybe even as 465 00:26:28,960 --> 00:26:31,400 adults. But baptism is actually adoption 466 00:26:31,400 --> 00:26:33,800 into the family of God and we're wiped free of the stain of 467 00:26:33,800 --> 00:26:35,400 original sin. It's a physical thing that 468 00:26:35,400 --> 00:26:37,560 happens to us with the water, but it's also a spiritual 469 00:26:37,560 --> 00:26:41,560 renewal and it's something that we need in our relationship with 470 00:26:41,560 --> 00:26:43,920 Christ. Another sacrament that's very 471 00:26:43,920 --> 00:26:47,000 powerful is confession. And this is from the Catholic 472 00:26:47,000 --> 00:26:49,360 perspective, or if you're Orthodox going to confession, 473 00:26:49,360 --> 00:26:52,560 you're actually talking through the priest to God and it's 474 00:26:52,560 --> 00:26:56,120 actually an A moment where you're sharing your sin and he 475 00:26:56,120 --> 00:26:59,400 is explicitly forgiving you. Now we can still confess our sin 476 00:26:59,400 --> 00:27:02,280 anytime, anywhere, but this is also a sacrament where you 477 00:27:02,280 --> 00:27:05,360 actually receive through the words of Christ, through the 478 00:27:05,360 --> 00:27:07,840 words of the priest, the words of Christ and the forgiveness of 479 00:27:07,840 --> 00:27:10,360 Christ. Another sacrament that's very 480 00:27:10,360 --> 00:27:12,240 powerful is marriage. For those of you that are 481 00:27:12,240 --> 00:27:15,200 married or feeling called to marriage, this is a sacrament 482 00:27:15,200 --> 00:27:16,840 that's meant to draw you closer to Christ. 483 00:27:16,840 --> 00:27:20,040 I know in my marriage it absolutely has brought me closer 484 00:27:20,040 --> 00:27:21,760 to Christ and to know the love of Christ. 485 00:27:21,760 --> 00:27:24,080 So the sacraments are really important. 486 00:27:24,080 --> 00:27:27,160 I might talk about that those all in a future episode, but 487 00:27:27,160 --> 00:27:28,960 these are this is the life of the Church. 488 00:27:28,960 --> 00:27:31,960 This is the life of a Christian. Our prayer, our community, our 489 00:27:31,960 --> 00:27:36,000 study, our sacraments in it and all through it developing our 490 00:27:36,000 --> 00:27:38,760 relationship with Christ, our friendship with Christ so we can 491 00:27:38,760 --> 00:27:44,040 truly follow him. Bottom line is persecution of 492 00:27:44,040 --> 00:27:49,640 any kind from within or without can be transformed when we 493 00:27:50,480 --> 00:27:54,400 endure it and experience it through the lens of Christ, 494 00:27:54,680 --> 00:27:59,680 through the lens of our unconditional identity as 495 00:27:59,680 --> 00:28:01,880 children, as sons and daughters of God. 496 00:28:02,320 --> 00:28:06,960 And from looking at it in order to transform it, experiencing it 497 00:28:06,960 --> 00:28:10,720 to transform it, to use it as an opportunity to love the person 498 00:28:10,720 --> 00:28:14,360 persecuting us, to pray, say a prayer for the person we're 499 00:28:14,880 --> 00:28:18,320 talking with, whether it's on social media or the friend who 500 00:28:18,320 --> 00:28:23,200 disagrees or the person who maybe vandalizes our pro-life 501 00:28:23,200 --> 00:28:25,640 sign at our university. I know a bunch of you had faced 502 00:28:25,640 --> 00:28:28,040 that. Or we pray for the person that 503 00:28:28,040 --> 00:28:32,000 we are debating with. Or we we pray for the the tech 504 00:28:32,120 --> 00:28:36,960 social media tech bosses. We pray for our politicians, we 505 00:28:36,960 --> 00:28:40,960 pray for the conversion of souls, and we also speak up. 506 00:28:40,960 --> 00:28:44,560 We also speak up and speak the truth as we continue to seek to 507 00:28:44,560 --> 00:28:49,440 serve and to love others with that when with God's strength, 508 00:28:49,440 --> 00:28:53,040 knowing our identity, any persecution is not only 509 00:28:53,040 --> 00:28:56,040 bearable, but it is something that we can transform. 510 00:28:56,680 --> 00:29:01,240 And that's why this is the secret that Christ left us with. 511 00:29:01,240 --> 00:29:03,960 And when he ascended into heaven, he, he gave us, he's, 512 00:29:03,960 --> 00:29:06,960 he's teaching us, because it's the life that he lived, one 513 00:29:06,960 --> 00:29:11,400 where he was persecuted unto death, but he, his own death 514 00:29:11,400 --> 00:29:15,760 became a ransom for our sin. And that persecution, when we 515 00:29:15,760 --> 00:29:18,440 enter into it in our own little way, whatever we endure, 516 00:29:18,440 --> 00:29:23,880 experience, we can become a part of that powerful redeeming love. 517 00:29:24,640 --> 00:29:28,920 And that's the beauty of persecution, even when there is 518 00:29:28,920 --> 00:29:33,320 the hurt alongside of it. As always, I love hearing from 519 00:29:33,320 --> 00:29:36,560 you guys. If anybody has any thoughts or 520 00:29:36,560 --> 00:29:40,800 questions or feedback for me for this topic of persecution for 521 00:29:40,800 --> 00:29:42,960 this episode, I would love to hear from you. 522 00:29:43,400 --> 00:29:47,240 You can e-mail me at thoughts@lilaroshow.com. 523 00:29:47,240 --> 00:29:49,600 That's thoughts at lilaroshow.com. 524 00:29:50,640 --> 00:29:54,480 I hope this episode was helpful, was interesting for you guys. 525 00:29:54,520 --> 00:29:58,600 Thank you so much for listening. If you found it useful, please 526 00:29:58,880 --> 00:30:02,600 subscribe, please review, leave five stars if you can. 527 00:30:02,600 --> 00:30:04,600 That will help this podcast reach more people. 528 00:30:04,880 --> 00:30:07,440 And thank you all so much. Have a wonderful rest of your 529 00:30:07,680 --> 00:30:09,520 morning, day, evening, night.