If you are insulted for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of God rests upon you. // 1 Peter 4:14 

I was voted the next Mother Teresa in our eighth grade superlatives. There is a picture of me in the yearbook, kneeling, with my hands in prayer and eyes gazing up to heaven. It's as cheesy as you can imagine. I thought it was a cruel joke by my classmates. I was perplexed why I would have “won” this title; after all, we were attending the same Catholic school. I guess I wasn’t as Catholic-on-the-down-low or as cool as I thought. As if that wasn’t enough to bruise my ego, a classmate wrote to me, “You wear your heart on your sleeve.” I wasn’t sure whether to take that as a compliment or as a jab at my coolness. What did everyone know about me that I didn’t?

In high school I ran for class president and I cited a Scripture passage in my speech in front of the whole student body. Again, I didn’t think I was doing anything anyone else wouldn’t do.  Afterwards came the flack, though. One classmate in particular said, “I can’t believe you would quote Scripture.” And, yes, he covered his mouth, snickered, pointed, and laughed as he walked away. Again, a Catholic school and a flashback to eighth grade, only this time I felt the sting of embarrassment.

After several more of these encounters, I have been able to sift through these experiences and search for their meaning. I have found that all of these words have been pointing to something greater that I was not seeing before because of my pride. They all point to my relationship with Jesus in one way or another. 

Sister, when have you been teased or belittled because of the way you live your faith? Take time to ponder these moments and ask the Holy Spirit to shed light on the truth of your identity as a daughter of God. Ask the Lord to take away your shame and fill you with truth.