Homily: May 24, 2025,Saturday of the Fifth week of Easter (Persecution)

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 “No slave is greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.”

There is no doubt: every Christian who follows Jesus truly and live fully obedient to His commandments will face some form of persecution. The stories of the saints and martyrs throughout history confirm this reality.

If we genuinely live according to the values of the Gospel, persecution is inevitable. Why? Because the world lives in opposition to the Gospel values.

We all love Mother Teresa of Calcutta. She is now a canonized saint of the church but before she even died, she was already recognized as a living saint. She responded to the call of Jesus with extraordinary faith, humility and full obedience. She lived the Gospel in a powerful and real way, she showed mercy, compassion and solidarity with the poorest of the poor, living with them in the poorest of conditions, feeding them from the poverty she embraced but embracing them with the fullness of Christ’s love through the congregation she founded, the Missionaries of Charity.

Today, she is honored and respected around the world. But during her lifetime, she too faced harsh criticisms and strong oppositions for the work she did, and for the way she did it.

Many political and religious leaders in India, including some Hindus and Muslims, misunderstood her mission. They did not give much credit for her sacrifices yet falsely accused her of using charity as a tool for religious conversion.

I remember, when I was younger, I heard about some activists who destroyed one of the orphanages and a convent belonging to the Missionaries of Charity because of those accusations.

Even today, the Indian government has placed strict restrictions on the Missionaries of Charity, limiting their ability to receive foreign donations because there is lack of trust. In some Muslim-majority countries, the congregation has been targeted and attacked, again under the false accusation of hiding conversion under charity.

This kind of persecution is not surprising; it is a sign of authentic fidelity to the Gospel. As Jesus said, “If the world hates you, know that it hated me first.”

When Christian leaders are universally praised and loved by the world, it might mean they are compromising the values of the Gospel and are thus pleasing to the world.

But saints like Mother Teresa remained faithful and fearless. Even in the face of opposition, she did not abandon her mission, her call to serve Jesus in the poorest of the poor.

Today, we need more fearless Christian disciples like her. We need men and women of courage who are willing to preach the truth, live the Gospel, and love without compromise, even when it is unpopular and risks persecution.

As Pope Leo XIII reminded us in his first public address,

“The gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against the Church.” So we should not fear.

Let us go out and proclaim the Gospel with faith and courage, trusting that Christ is with us and His Spirit will strengthen us and provide for us.

Amen.


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