Mental Prayer for August 2 - Our Lord Preaches in His Hometown. Nazareth

Mental Prayer Meditation Helps

Presence of God.

Grace I Ask: To come to the realization that my Catholic beliefs may bring me much criticism and scorn.

Mental Picture (d. Luke 4: 14-30): Christ takes the Scriptures and reads the prophecy of the Messias. "Today is fu1fi11ed this Scripture in your ears"...murmur and unrest...is this not the son of Joseph the carpenter? How dare he speak like this? The mob swings into action at the wild suggestion to throw the "madman" from the cliff just outside the town. The Master is swept along by the crazed mob gradually growing more boisterous until... of a sudden someone notices that the prophet has slipped out of their hands. "His hour had not yet come."

My Personal Application: When my efforts at being more Christlike are ridiculed, do I recall the reception that Christ received from his own towns­people?... or do I give up and follow the crowd? Has it ever really dawned on me that Christ's life was actually full of seeming failure and persecu­tion? It is not easy to take insults or even half-­serious "kidding" especially from our com­panions. Christ gives us an example: "As they have hated me, they will also hate you." Is the servant better than the master?

I Speak to Christ: Lord, I admit I would prefer physical pain to the embarrassment of others' making fun of my attempts at being Christlike. But you understand the problem of trying to lead a life of imitation of you in a world that is so often opposed to everything you stand for. Help me. Give me the courage never to stop trying just out of human respect.

Thought for Today: Is the servant better than the master?
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Adapted from Mental Prayer, Challenge to the Lay Apostle
by The Queen's Work,(© 1958)