Suffering in the Name of the Lord

The Son of God was made the son of Man for our salvation. Nine months He waited for His birth in the womb. . . . He who enclosed the world in His fist was contained in the narrow walls of a manger. . . . When He was whipped, He remained calm. When he was crucified, He prayed for His crucifiers. . . . The only fitting response we can make toward Him is to give blood for blood. Because we are redeemed by the blood of Christ, we should gladly desire to lay down our lives for our Redeemer. What saints have ever won their crowns without competing first? . . . You will find that all holy people have suffered persecution. . . . Which is best – to fight for a short time, to carry stakes for the stockaded, to bear arms, and to faint under heavy battles in order to rejoice as victors forever, or to become slaves forever because we can’t endure for a single hour?

Jerome