Sunday Sermon, December 15th -- St John the Baptist, Faithful in Times of Trial (Father Ryan Erlenbush, Corpus Christi)

When John the Baptist sent the two disciples to ask the Lord whether he is the Messiah, St John does not in any way doubt but rather is teaching all his disciples (and all of us) to look to the Lord Jesus in time of trial and to trust in God's plan to bring good out of evil.  St John the Baptist does not doubt at all that Jesus is the Messiah and true God.

We can mistakenly think that things will get easier for us if we are faithful to the Lord and practice our Faith. However, St John, and even more the Lord, teaches us that the Christian life is a life of suffering. Do not be scandalized when we suffer persecution or when it seems that things get more difficult when we practice our faith! The example of St John the Baptist and the example of Jesus show us that, even though there will be suffering, the Christian will triumph over all evil.

Don't let yourself be scandalized by bad things we see in the Church  (confusion from the Vatican or bad examples from bishops and priests), or by bad things we see in the world (war, violence, poverty, the attack on marriage and religion), or by bad things that happen in our own families -- rather, trust that God will work through all of this to bring us to holiness!

Listen online [here]!