Causes of Reformation. The start of the 16th century, many events led to the Protestant reformation. Clergy abuse caused people to begin criticizing the Catholic Church. The greed and scandalous lives of the clergy had created a split between them and the peasants.

The Protestant Reformation in Europe indirectly spurred the early settlement of Colonial America. The Reformation created geopolitical, social, and religious forces that pushed English explorers, colonists, and migrants toward North America.

Mainline Protestants also believed that they were in a fight for religious and culture control of America against the forces of secularism and the ever-growing Catholic Church. Meanwhile, Protestant fundamentalists, ousted from their denominations and positions of cultural power, turned inward.

Spiritual persecution is the mistreatment of an individual in response to their beliefs by tormentors who seek to undermine and hurt their efforts. People can be very judgmental and unfeeling if they give each other enough reasons to persecute someone who is not of their spiritual faith.

It is far harder to “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you”, which is the standard Jesus now wants his followers to aim for. In these verses, Jesus is describing agape – this is a practical love requiring effort. It is based on respect for all people. It is the love shown by God for all of humanity.

Here’s a verse that speaks of how we love: John 13:34-35: “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

Jesus is described as telling the parable in response to the question from a lawyer, “And who is my neighbor?” The conclusion is that the neighbor figure in the parable is the one who shows mercy to the injured fellow man—that is, the Samaritan.

The Gospel of Matthew records Jesus’ answer: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (22:37-39).

He was, in short, a person who did not need to move, and when he asked “Who is my neighbor?” he expected Jesus to re-inscribe that system and, thus, to show that the lawyer was already standing in a good spot, that he was, in fact, justified.

Saint Veronica

Veronica, (flourished 1st century ce, Jerusalem; feast day July 12), renowned legendary woman who, moved by the sight of Christ carrying his cross to Golgotha, gave him her kerchief to wipe his brow, after which he handed it back imprinted with the image of his face.

According to the New Testament, a woven crown of thorns was placed on the head of Jesus during the events leading up to his crucifixion. It was one of the instruments of the Passion, employed by Jesus’ captors both to cause him pain and to mock his claim of authority.