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document.write('<h2>How To Handle Harassment</h2><p><strong><em>by <a target="_blank" href="http://www.parishwebmaster.com/services/au');
document.write('thors/bio_bjubar.htm"><font color="#000000">Brandon Jubar</font></a></em></strong></p><blockquote><P><i>"Blessed are');
document.write(' those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." (Matt 5:10)</i></P></blockqu');
document.write('ote><P>Being Catholic in today\'s society is not easy. The Catholic Church has endured recent crises that have tested t');
document.write('he faith of many people, and these tragic events have cast a shadow on the Church in the eyes of many non-Catholics. But');
document.write(' even without these events, being a moral, Christian teenager often means being teased and harassed.</P><P>Standing up');
document.write(' for something that is not part of pop-culture in high school has always been hard, and these days it may be even more d');
document.write('ifficult. Yet, as with most things, we can look to Jesus and the Word for some excellent ideas on how to handle harassme');
document.write('nt.</P><h3>Step 1: Confuse Your Enemies by Loving Them</h3><P>Jesus understood very well that loving your friends is');
document.write(' easy. But Jesus wasn\'t about taking the easy way out -- he was about getting to heaven. But how do you love your enemie');
document.write('s, really?</P><P>Well, first you have to realize that we\'re not talking about the warm, fuzzy, emotional sort of "love');
document.write('." We\'re talking about Christian love. That means we have to put others before ourselves and do things that bring goodne');
document.write('ss to the other person, with no regard for what we "get out of it."</P><P>I guarantee you that if you are kind and gen');
document.write('erous to people who pick on or bully you, they won\'t be sure what to think! People become uncertain when they expect a n');
document.write('egative response but get a positive one instead. So the first thing you need to do is confuse your "enemies" by loving t');
document.write('hem.</P><blockquote><P><i>"But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you … " (Matt 5:44)');
document.write('</i></P></blockquote><h3>Step 2: Disarm Your Enemies by Ignoring Their Attacks</h3><P>My mother always told me to ');
document.write('ignore my brother and he would stop bugging me. It never worked, but not because it\'s a poor tactic. It never worked bec');
document.write('ause I didn\'t have the patience to stick to it.</P><P>When someone insults you, they expect to get a reaction -- usual');
document.write('ly a negative or violent one. But if you do the opposite and don\'t react at all to their barbs, they won\'t know what to ');
document.write('do. Eventually they will grow disinterested, but you have to have patience.</P><P>Remember that it takes a stronger pe');
document.write('rson to endure insults and persecution than it does to fight back. And it is often the stubbornly non-violent person who');
document.write(' is the most respected in the long run. When you rise above the insults, you are definitely above the one who is doing t');
document.write('he insulting.</P><blockquote><P><i>"That is why, for Christ\'s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardship');
document.write('s, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." (2 Cor 12:10)</i></P></blockquote><h3>St');
document.write('ep 3: Win the War by Losing the Battles</h3><P>Throughout history, the Church has survived while many individuals have');
document.write(' not. Some of these people became saints, and they continue to intercede on our behalf even though they are no longer al');
document.write('ive. They were people who stood up for what they believed in, regardless of the consequences.</P><P>Losing a battle is');
document.write(' no big deal. Letting someone "get the best of you" should not be cause for embarrassment. To be more like Jesus, we hav');
document.write('e to think long-term. Who can dish out the worst insults is not important. What\'s important is who can endure the most.<');
document.write('/P><P>If you can withstand verbal attacks without getting sucked into doing the same, you will be much better off in t');
document.write('he end. There will always be someone with a more offensive slur than you, but who can top the person who takes it all in');
document.write(' stride? You may lose the battle of words, but you\'ll win the war for what is right and just.</P><blockquote><P><i>"');
document.write('For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the Gospel will sav');
document.write('e it." (Mark 8:35)</i></P></blockquote><h3>Wrapping It Up</h3><P>Enduring persecution is not "giving in." On the c');
document.write('ontrary, "giving in" is going along with the crowd so that you won\'t be harassed. When I compromise my principles in ord');
document.write('er to avoid pain or embarrassment, I\'ve truly lost.</P><P>But enduring persecution does not have to be unbearable, and');
document.write(' we do not need to sit and do nothing. We just need to make sure that what we choose to do is Christ-like.</P><P>So th');
document.write('e next time someone ridicules you for what you believe in, take three little steps. Confuse them by showing Christian lo');
document.write('ve, disarm them by ignoring their verbal abuse, and win the war by gracefully losing some battles.</P><hr><h3>Life App');
document.write('lications:</h3><P>How do you stand up for what you believe in?<br>What does it feel like to take an unpopular stance');
document.write(' on something?<br>Why do so many people just go with the crowd?</p><hr><P>Copyright 2004-2009 <strong><em>by <a targ');
document.write('et="_blank" href="http://www.parishwebmaster.com/services/authors/bio_bjubar.htm"><font color="#000000">Brandon Jubar</f');
document.write('ont></a></em></strong><A HREF="http://www.ParishWebmaster.com/" STYLE="TEXT-DECORATION: NONE"><font color="#000000"><br>');
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