I don’t think much about persecution. Oh, I whine to myself about how hard my life is, how things don’t work out the way I wish they would, how tough I have it. But think, for a moment, about the Christians in China. I did that recently, in my research for a column on Our Lady of China, and it turned things upside down for me. Slowly, living my faith in the open, something it’s all too easy to take for granted, became a precious gift. It became, not something I have to do, but something I want to do.
I read about how we’re becoming a pagan culture, about the doom and gloom. Maybe that’s so. I can think of no better intercessor for that than Our Lady of China, who so deeply understands our struggles and so lovingly encourages us to run — not walk — to her Son.
You can read my column at Today’s Catholic Woman, the woman’s channel of Catholic Exchange.
Image of Our Lady of China is from the Cardinal Kung Foundation
