BY MARY SAYAD  

Beloved Friends,

Discouragement visits us in a variety of forms. Naturally, we don’t embrace pain and suffering. Naturally, we sometimes become disappointed from hurts and thoughtlessness of family and friends. Sadly, with the passage of time we suffer the pain over the loss of our loved ones.

Although we’ve been prudent and planned our financial futures responsibly, we are helpless to the whims of the market and the government’s changing laws and burdens. Governments have the ability and power to victimize, and diminish our hard earned finances and to drastically change our future.

Christ experienced the Sanhedrin as well as the Roman officials’ fear of losing their high positions. Power and control over the masses was of utmost importance to them. Christ knew their hearts and minds and they were frustrated with his authority. In order to preserve their positions, they contrived to put him to a merciless death. They were motivated by greed and fear which most decisively is Satan’s manipulative tool.

Luke 21:25-28 “There will be signs in the sun, the moon and the stars. On the earth, the nations will be in anguish, distraught at the roaring of the sea and the waves. Men will die of fright in anticipation of what is coming upon the earth. The powers in the heavens will be shaken. After that, man will see the Son of Man coming on a cloud with great power and glory. When these things begin to happen, stand erect and hold your heads high, for your deliverance is near at hand.”

Christ came to fulfill the Holy Scriptures, therefore, he was obedient to God the Father’s Will, but because of hate and unfounded accusations, he suffered horrifically and was crucified on a cross for our salvation. Christ overcame the world with His triumphant Resurrection.

We were all created to know, love and serve God. We are also called to follow God’s Word and to be an instrument of His Holy Will.

Many alienate themselves from God. As conscientious Christians, we are not of this world; we belong in it but we do not follow its standards. We follow the Word of the Lord which is love, life and the breath of the Holy Spirit.

How do we follow His Word? We follow His Word by keeping the Commandments and Christ’s teachings. We become an instrument of His Will by unambiguously relying on the hope and grace of the Holy Spirit. In so doing, we will have the strength to bear all the storms that are inevitable in our lives.

In addition, by rejecting unholy choices and images, we develop into a people of strong discernment.

By consecrating our souls and imaginations to truth and by daily dedicating ourselves to the Will of God through prayer, we will be a solid boulder that is unshakable despite the boundaries set by society and government. In other words, we will be called the children of light because we will illumine a darkened, dreary world through Jesus and Mary.

Pray the Rosary for the soul of America, the banning of abortion and euthanasia. Equally important, is to continue to pray for our military and their families. Thank you for your Rosaries and your love.

**The above featured Crucifix is hung in St. Mary’s Church in Pompton Lakes, NJ