LESSON 10 : The Church Experiences

Persecution
The Church was growing despite of Persecution in
Jerusalem. In Acts 6:1, in those days, as the number of
disciples grew, the ones who spoke Greek complained
that their widows were being rejected in the daily
distribution of food, as compared with those who spoke
Hebrew. The early Christian community in Rome was
experiencing persecution in the hands of opposed to the
faith. Even at present time, Church is encountering
persecution.
KNOWING THE MESSAGE Time of Persecution
Romans 8:31-39

What then shall we say to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who
did not spare his own Son but handed him over for us all, how will he not also
give us everything else along with him? Who will bring a charge against God's
chosen ones? It is God who acquits us. Who will condemn? It is Christ [Jesus]
who died, rather, was raised, who also is at the right hand of God, who indeed
intercedes for us. What will separate us from the love of Christ? Will anguish, or
distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or the sword? As it is
written: "For your sake we are being slain all day; we are looked upon as sheep
to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we conquer overwhelmingly through
him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels,
nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height,
nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of
God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
According to Catholic
Encyclopedia, Persecution may
be defined in general as the
unlawful coercion of another's
liberty or his unlawful
punishment, for not every kind
of punishment can be regarded
as persecution. Persecution
means unlawful coercion or
punishment for religion's sake.
The Church has suffered many
kinds of persecution until now.
Deepening the Message St. Paul encouraged the early
Christian community to remain
in their trust and faith in God, to
be strong enough to face
suffering from severe
persecution in the hands of
those oppressors. God's salvific
plan makes it clear to Christians
that God is on our side. None of
the dangers or troubles of life
can make the true Christian
forget the love of Christ made
known to human beings in His
The early Christians experienced
persecution because of their beliefs and
practices of the Christians conflicted with
the worldview of the pagan Rome. They
worshipped only one God and do not
recognize the Roman gods and goddesses.
They also refused to worship the emperor.
Christians are believed to be engaged in
some form of cannibalism in their
Eucharistic Rite which is celebrated in secret.
Public spectacles of bloody games, like
gladiatorial contests, were condemned by
the Christians as inhuman. Christians
refused to serve in the army and protested
against wars. Christians showed disloyalty to
the state by not paying the imposed temple
It was in the time of Nero that
early Church experienced
persecution. He made the lives
of the Christians into living
torches. Others were fed to the
lions and dogs/St. Peter who was
crucified upside-down, and St.
Paul, who was beheaded, was
among the victims.
During the reign of Emperor
Diocletian, persecution of the
church was the worst persecution
extremely violent and added many
to the list of martyrs in the Church.
But Christians were able to
survive. Some of the reasons were:
(1) They had become too strong
to be defeated and they were well
organized. (2) They had never lost
its martyr spirit. (3) They rejected
the old gods. (4) They had faith in
the Christ of God.
The Church says...
The Second Plenary Council
of the Philippine speaks of
the need for the Church to
"drink the cup that Jesus
drank," and Lumen Gentium
speaks of the same
encouragement given by
Paul to the early Church.
The final prayer of Jesus, His act of
self-oblation on the cross to the Father
for others, would be indelibly
imprinted in the minds and hearts of
the Apostles. His dying and rising, His
paschal mystery, was to be a
dangerous memory challenging them,
providing a painful realism in
proclaiming the Good News. For the
cup of suffering that Jesus had to
drink was a non-negotiable element of
the mission to liberate. We will have to
drink our share of that cup (PCP. 56).
The Church, "like a stranger in a
foreign land, presses forward
amid the persecution of the
world and the consolation of
God" and announcing the cross
and death of the Lord until He
comes. But by the power of the
Risen Lord, she is given strength
to overcome, in patience and in
love, her sorrows and her
difficulties, both those that are
from within (LG, 8)
Jesus entrusted a unique mission to Simon
Peter. Through a revelation from the Father,
Peter had confessed: "You are the Christ,
the Son of the living God." Our Lord then
declared to him: "You are Peter, and on this
rock, I will build my Church, and the gates
of Hades will not prevail against it." Christ,
the "living Stone", thus assures his Church,
built on Peter, of victory over the powers of
death. Because of the faith he confessed
Peter will remain the unshakable rock of the
Church. His mission will be to keep this faith
from every lapse and to strengthen his
brothers in it (CCC, 552).
From the beginning of Jesus' public ministry, group of
Pharisees and partisans of Herod together with priests
and scribes agreed together to destroy him. Because of
certain acts of expelling demons, forgiving sins, healing
on the Sabbath day, his novel interpretation of the
precepts of the Law regarding purity, and his familiarity
with tax collectors and public sinners some ill-
intentioned persons suspected Jesus of demonic
possession. He is accused of blasphemy and false
prophecy, religious crimes which the Law punished with
death by stoning (CCC, 574).
The first Christians were encountered
with a great challenge. In order to
bring God's salvation to all mankind,
as was Jesus' command, they had to
break free from the restricting Jewish
sectarianism. It was an unlikely and
very difficult beginning for the
Church. But the power of the Holy
Spirit was clearly at work in and
through the Apostles and leaders of
the early Christian community. Jesus
was truly present and active among
His people.
It is clear from both the Scripture and Church Teachings that
preserving in faith and following Christ is a commitment that every
Christian must adhere to even in the face of trials and persecution.
Following Jesus means possessing spirituality (PCP 11, 273-282): a.
Marked by an enduring and intimate commitment to Jesus, a love
for Him that does not count the cost. b. Shares Good News joy
during deprivation, hope in situation of criticism and pessimism, a
faith that is fully aware of the enduring presence of God-with-us
and of the ultimate victory of goodness over evil. c. Listens to and
heeds God's word, discerns and follows the Spirit in the Scriptures,
in the Church and in history, in the voices of the voiceless and
powerless and finds in the Eucharist not only its full nourishment
but also its total prayerful communion with the Lord of salvation
and liberation.
It is the Eucharist that nourishes and sustains the
Christians in adhering to Jesus and in devoting their lives
to Him despite the enticement of the world.
One of the greatest challenges the church faces today is to
be inclusive. Pope Francis urges us to be a church where
everyone can feel welcomed, loved, forgiven and
encouraged to live according to the Gospel. There can be
no future for the living church without this vital sense of
ecclesial inclusiveness. There must be space for everyone,
especially those who have been hurt, excluded or alienated,
be they abuse victims, survivors, divorcees, gays, lesbians,
women, disaffected members. The church will be less than
what Christ intends it to be when issues of inclusion and
equality are not fully addressed. A church where there is
less an experience of exclusion but more an encounter of
radical love, inclusiveness and solidarity.