Friday evening a group of friends gathered at the
Shrine of the Blessed Sacrament in Raritan, New Jersey, to welcome another
friend into our company. Coming from Florida, Sweden and Switzerland, New York,
North Carolina and New Jersey we prayed, feasted and shared companionship.
Father Guy, the rector of the Shrine, and head of the Order of Saint Agatha in
the USA (an international philanthropic group of Christians seeking to serve
our neighbor by charitable works and defense of the Christian faith), presided at solemn Vespers for Friday with a service of Benediction
of the Blessed Sacrament.In his brief homily Father Guy zeroed-in on the
witness of Saint Agatha who gave her life to Christ because of her love for
Him. Hence, our lives are not mere do-gooders but people of faith rooted in
sacrifice and giving of self; Father Guy drew our attention to the need to root
our service of neighbor in Christ as he reflected Saint Paul's second letter to
the Corinthians where Paul speaks of the Father's compassion and encouragement
in all things, particularly in times of affliction. The human tendency is to
loose hope and despair over our sufferings without uniting this reality to
Christ. Remembering and living in Christ's sufferings strengthens our resolve
to carry-on because we know we are not alone.
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