Our Lord tells us to remain with Him always. He also tells us to rejoice. That’s not as easy as it sounds, with a culture that has turned away from faith and has fallen into worry and despair. But it can be done and it must be done!
Pam called Father Simon SaysTM, which she calls her “little bible study for the day”, to speak about the Scripture that has been on her heart.
“You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.” Matthew 10:22
What does it mean to stand firm, she wondered? “Does that mean like we just don’t give in and say, ‘I can’t do this anymore, I’m not going to follow Jesus?’”
“It’s those who remain to the end will be saved,” responded Fr. Simon. A lover of words and their meanings, he broke down the original Greek. “The word is hypomeinas—it means to endure, to stand my ground. It literally means stay behind; when everyone else is leaving, you stay.”
Why do you remain with the Lord? Is it for the warm feeling you get during Mass? Is it for the answers to prayer you receive? Is it the promise of heaven? But what if you got nothing out of it… would you remain?
“I think there comes a time in the life of every Christian when the Lord says, ‘What if there’s nothing in this for you … will you still love me?’” said Fr. Simon. Our faith requires that we grow steadfast and not leave when everyone else is abandoning their faith.
“Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory. For the wedding day of the Lamb has come, his bride has made herself ready.” Revelation 19:7
How can we be joyful when the things of Revelation (or even the events of the current age) come to pass? “We’re supposed to rejoice that these things are happening because it means he’s going to come back and get us,” said Pam. “That’s hard because you see what the world’s turning into right now—it’s probably going to get worse. We have to rejoice though?”
“I look at the headlines in the morning and let me tell you—it takes some work to rejoice. But we read the end of the book. We win. So, rejoice!” said Fr. Simon.
It comes down to finding the right perspective. If not, you’ll drive yourself crazy! “You gotta keep focused that you’re in this because of Jesus. If you say, ‘Oh, Mass isn’t wasn’t it used to be with all of this disinfectant and I don’t like this and I don’t like that.’ Well, I don’t like any of it either but I’m in it for Jesus!” said Fr. Simon. “And if you’re in it for the Lord, that’s a source of joy that you can rejoice when the world is unhappy.”
“Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life.” – John 6:68
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