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Word of Life

October 2009

"By your patience possess ye your souls" (Luke 21:19)

[...]
"Perseverance." And 'This is the translation of the original Greek word, which, however, is rich in content: it also includes patience, endurance, strength and confidence.
Perseverance is necessary and indispensable when we suffer, when one is tempted when he is brought to despair, when one is lured by the attractions of the world, when you are persecuted.
I think you too will be found in at least one of these circumstances and has found that, without perseverance, you could lose. Sometimes maybe you have sold. Now maybe, just at this moment, you are immersed in some of these painful situations.
Well, what?
Pull yourself together, and ... perseveres.
Otherwise the name of "Christian" does not suit you.
You know: who wants to follow Christ must take up his cross daily, to love, at least with the will, the pain. The Christian vocation is a vocation perseverance.
Paul, the Apostle, the community shows its persistence as a sign of Christian authenticity.
And not afraid to put it in terms of miracles.
If you love the cross and then you persevere you can follow Christ in Heaven and then save it.

"By your patience possess ye your souls"

There are two categories of people: those who feel the call to be true Christians, but this call falls in their souls like the seed on stony ground. Enthusiasm, similar to flash in the pan, and then there's nothing left. The second
instead accept the invitation, as a good soil receives the seed. And the Christian life germinates, grows, overcomes difficulties, resist the storms.
These have perseverance and ... "with your patience possess ye your souls"

course, if you do not want to endure just lean only on your own strength.
We need God's help
Paul calls God "the God of perseverance."
E 'then you have to ask Him and He will give you.
Because if you're a Christian you may not be enough to be baptized or the occasional practice of worship and charity. You need to grow as a Christian. And any growth in the spiritual, can not happen if not in the midst of trials, sorrows, to obstacles to the battles.
There are those who persevere to really know: it is the one who loves. Love does not see obstacles, he sees problems, he sees sacrifices. And perseverance is the love felt.
[...]
Mary is the woman of perseverance.
Pray to God that you turn on in the heart of love for Him, and perseverance, in all the difficulties of life, you will follow, and with it you will save your soul.

"By your patience possess ye your souls"

But there's more. Perseverance is contagious. Who is persevering also encourages others to get to the bottom.
[...]
aim high. We have one life and also about this. Grit your teeth every day, we face one difficulty after another to follow Christ ... and save our souls.

Chiara Lubich

Word of Life, June 1979, published in full in Being Your Word. Chiara Lubich and Christians around the world, vol. II, New Town, Rome 1982, pp.25-28.

Red Floor What Colour Should My Walls Be

Word of Life Word of Life September

"Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you" (Matt. 6:33)

in September 2009

whole Gospel is a revolution. No word of Christ that looks like that of men. Listen to this: "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things (the necessities of life) will be given to"
The first concern of man, in general, is the anxious search for what is necessary to provide security to its existence. Maybe so for you too. Well, Jesus puts you in front of "his" way of looking and offers a way to act. We demand a totally different behavior than usual, and held not once, but always. And 'this: seek first the kingdom of God
When you are directed with your whole being to God and do all that he will reign (ie governments your life with its laws) within yourself and in others, the Father will give you what you need every day.
If you worry about yourself first, you end up with the cure of the main things of this world and you fall victim to them. You end up seeing the goods of this world "your" real problem, the "end" of all your efforts. And I was born into the grave temptation to rely solely on your own strength and to do without God

"Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you"

Jesus reverses the situation. If your first concern will be to Him, live for Him, then the rest will no longer be the main problem of your existence, but a "well" or "surplus."
Utopia? Word impossible for you, modern man, today, in an industrialized world where there is competition and that is often in economic crisis? I remind you simply that the practical difficulties of subsistence for the people of Galilee, were not much lower when Jesus spoke these words.
not a question of utopia or not, Jesus asks you before setting important in your life or live for you, or live for God
But we now understand this word

"Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."

Jesus calls you to immobility, passivity for earthly things, to conduct an irresponsible or superficial work.
Jesus wants to change the "concern" to "employment", remove the anxiety, fear, anxiety.
He says: "Seek 'before' the kingdom ...."
The sense of "before" is "above all else." The search for the kingdom of God is put first, and does not exclude that the Christian must also address the need of his life.

"seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness," then, means having a conduct consistent with the requirements of God manifested by Jesus in his Gospel.
Only by the kingdom of God, the Christian will experience the wonderful power of the Father in his favor.
I tell you a story. And
'time ago, yet appears to an incredible news. In fact I know many young people who behave now as the girl was acting.
His name was Elvira. Attending the colleges. Was poor. Only an average high could ensure the continuation of studies. He had a strong faith. His philosophy professor was an atheist, so often showed the truth about Christ and the Church of focus, if not distorted. The girl's heart was boiling. Not for himself but for the love of God, truth and her companions. While aware that contradicting the professor could have had a bad mark, what he felt inside was stronger than her. He raised his hand at all times, asking to speak: "Do not you, professor." Perhaps some time will have had all the arguments to counter the disquisitions of the professor, but in that "not true" was his faith, the gift of truth and makes you think.
's companions, who loved her, tried to dissuade her from her actions because they were not harmful. But they could not.
They spend a few months. It 'time to distribute the report card. She takes it and shakes. Then a splash of joy. Ten! The maximum rating.
He tried first of all that God and his kingdom and the truth had come to rest in addition.

"Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you"

If you seek the kingdom of the Father, you will experience that God is Providence for all the needs of your life. You will discover the extraordinary standard of the Gospel.

Chiara Lubich

published for the first time in May 1979