Let the Dead Bury the Dead
One
Luke 9:57-62
As Jesus and his disciples traveled along, they met a man on the road who said to him, ‘I will follow you wherever you go.’ Of course he never did…
Then they met a man…to whom Jesus said, ‘Follow me.’ The man replied, ‘Let me go and bury my father first.’ But Jesus answered, ‘Leave the dead to bury their dead; your duty is to go and spread the news of the kingdom of God.’
Another said, ‘I will follow you, sir, but first let me go and say goodbye to my people at home.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Once the hand is laid on the plough, no one who looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.’
Jesus gave one mission to those who are baptized and confirmed: “Go and make disciples of all nations.”
What excuses do we make when it comes to leading others to Jesus?
Two
In this time God has given us two effective means by which we may lead people to Him: Friendship and the Rosary.
Sports, schools, business, restaurants, even churches – will they be open? Only God knows. What always remains open is friendship and the Rosary. Build these now and they will sustain you no matter what happens. If everything goes back to normal – then you’ve got two great things in place.
Friends want the good of the other. The greatest good is friendship with God. That is what I want for myself, for my wife, my kids, my grandkids, my friends and enemies.
Live authentic friendship with others: Take the initiative to spend time with people. Share life together. Just do what you do and do it with others – your spouse, kids, friends – whoever. While you do it – be interested in them. Get to know, understand, love and care for them. Don’t try to fix or change them. Just come and live life together; we’re gonna have some fun!
The point is this – don’t make excuses – Be Missionaries of Friendship - take responsibility for 4-5 others; live life together and help each other to Jesus.
Who is your team?
Three
Our second weapon is the rosary
In an interview in 1957 Sr Lucia from Fatima stated:
We have two very effective means at our disposal: prayer and sacrifice…And let us not forget that, since the Blessed Virgin gave such great effectiveness to the Rosary, there is no material, spiritual, national or international problem that cannot be solved by means of the Holy Rosary and by our sacrifices.
When the time is right – invite them into your routine of the Rosary – have copies of the prayers ready…By this means help them to friendship with Jesus.
If you are unable to go out to people or invite them in – you can still do much good by your prayer and sacrifice offered for souls. Never underestimate the value of these.
Four
Why do I insist on the Rosary?
In 1964, Brazil the Communist-leaning president João Goulart was rallying support for a Communist revolution in the city of Belo Horizonte. Rosary groups were formed to break up Communist rallies by marching in the streets and praying the rosary loudly.
The archbishop of Rio de Janeiro, Cardinal de Barros Camara, spoke against the President by going on national radio to ask the people of Brazil to live the message of Fatima as a means of overcoming the Communist threat. President Goulart was so enraged by the archbishop’s messages that he insulted the people of Brazil in a public speech and ridiculed the rosary, saying that it was his Marxist ideas that would reform and save Brazil, not the rosaries of simple women.
In response more than 20,000 women marched into the streets with rosaries in their hands to engage in spiritual battle! They marched right into the midst of the Communist rally and prayed the rosary so loudly that it shut the rally down. On March 19, only six days after the women broke up the Communist rally, more than 600,000 people marched through the streets of São Paolo praying the rosary in the famous “March of the Family with God toward Freedom.” Many non-Catholics joined in, prayed the rosary with the Catholics as they marched in defiance against the Communist vision of the president. Goulart was so intimidated by the rosary army that within two weeks he had fled the country!
Five
In the Philippines in 1986, the People Power Revolution used the rosary to overcome the oppressive dictatorship of President Ferdinand Marcos. On the Sunday before the collapse of the Marcos regime, tens of thousands of Filipinos rose up in protest against the dictator by lining up and kneeling in front of armed tanks to pray the rosary. At the front of the lines were devout nuns who ceaselessly led the people in the recitation of the sacred mysteries. Risking their lives, thousands and thousands of people joined in with the sisters and prayed the rosary on their knees before the tanks. When they were ordered to move or be run over, the large group prayed the rosary even louder. Miraculously, there was never a shot fired, the tanks never touched the people, and President Ferdinand Marcos and his wife, Imelda, fled the country. Cardinal Sin, the archbishop of Manila, later recounted to the media what he had been told by many of the soldiers who were there that day. They said that they were about to run over the people with the tanks when they saw an extremely beautiful lady who instructed them that they were to stop their tanks and do no harm to the people because she was the queen of the island.