Q : 
My husband is a Christian and I am a Catholic and we have been married for over thirty years. Two years ago, I was diagnosed with cancer. When struggling from my sickness, I asked my husband to go to learn Catholic bible so that he can be baptized as a Catholic once I recovered. He agreed but his friends and old classmates learnt of this and said he is a traitor from his own religion. How can I comfort my husband for being called a traitor by his friends?
【 Question from 】 Hong Kong 香港

Fr. Francis : 

We Chinese has a saying: 「清者自清」. When we seek the Truth, there will always be persecution. This is not because the Truth is wrong, but that it is a light that exposes the cracks in people’s life. And not all people learn to examine their own possible errors, but rather they strike out against the changes around them.

Your husband studied the Truth, and the Truth drew him to the Catholic faith. I sincerely hope that he did that not for you, but because he has found what he studied to be the Truth. St. Peter said: better to suffer because of doing what is right, than for doing what is wrong. When we suffer for doing what is right, we found ourselves become closer to Jesus, for He also suffered innocently for doing what is right.

Let us offer the persecution we suffer as pleasing sacrifices to God. Let us never curse those who persecute us, but always bless and forgive them, for they know not what they are doing. May the sacrifice of our suffering, be a token to the Father to bring about their conversion.

Remember St. Stephen, who was murdered for his faith and approved by Paul before his conversion. How Stephen prayed for his persecutors like Jesus — and we must believe that he also prayed for Paul. In no small way his prayer in heaven must have contributed to the grace Paul received later on at his conversion. And when Paul was martyred and entered into heaven, who was there amongst the first to welcome him but Stephen, the one Paul once persecuted? But now not as enemies, but friends and fellow saints burning with the same love of God! What joy what mystery of grace, when we choose to persevere and bless our persecutors!

I will pray for your husband and for those who persecute him.