In the near past there were people all around the world who dedicated their life to God. One example is Leonard Cheshire he started off as a charity worker he learned to speak German and went to live there. When he was there a man asked him “War is a good way of getting rid of the rabble,” “Don’t you agree?” Cheshire spoke out for what was right and said, “No, sir,” replied Leonard “I don’t”. Leonard Cheshire was an everyday normal person to start off with he was a pilot officer and he didn’t believe in God. Leonard thought about there being a God, and decided killing innocent people for a living was wrong, so he gave up being a pilot officer and started looking after old people.
Leonard opened homes all around the world for old people. He suffered from TB but fought back and recovered so he could help old people. He then went around the world and opened many other homes. At the age of 74 he died from brain disease. Leonard Cheshire was a great man he sacrificed his life for the old people in the world. He left his life when he was young and gave it to God.
Like a monk or a nun Cheshire lead a public life of prayer healing the sick and looking after the elderly in apostolic orders of Christian brothers, the three vows for religious men and women were poverty, chastity and obedience.
Mother Teresa was another one of these people who had a religious life in apostolic orders. She led a public life of caring for the desperately needy all over the world. She opened over 140 schools and fed 50,000 people a day at centers across the world. She opened 70 homes for orphaned children and staffed more than 80 hospices, where about 13,000 people are nursed until the very second they die. Mother Teresa spent 21 hours seven days a week looking after people less fortunate than her.
Some people choose to be ordained like Maximilian Kolbe he suffered in a concentration camp when somebody else had escaped. Kolbe was so involved with God that he started saying mass in the concentration camp and started praying for his fellow inmates. Kolbe kept the other inmates hope up by raising the spirits of the others. Two weeks passed and one after another the other inmates died until it was just Kolbe left. The authorities felt that this was too long for Kolbe to survive so they gave Maximilian Kolbe a lethal injection, this killed him in the end but it just shows how praying to God can give you hope and can keep you going.
The final way that a Christian could live their life is to become ordained. The main parts of the ceremony of ordination show the main service, which a priest gives in the church. The priest would proclaim and preach the bible he would give out the bread and wine care for the needs of the people in his parish and finally consecrate himself to God, to be a very holy man.
The priest is being like one of the 12 disciples when they are first sent out. If somebody doesn’t want you there wipe the dust of your shoes and move on to the next city. And if the people want you to stay in their house stay there until you have finished preaching.
In my final point I think that whatever the life in which a lay person, ordained person, a person who chooses to dedicate there life to prayer e.g. nun or a monk. All of these people are doing the same thing, which consists of a life praying and doing very good deeds for the community. These People also help preach and care for less fortunate people. Overall, I have decided that there are different levels of showing discipleship, but have the same intentions at heart: to preach Gods word and to look after others.
By Gavin Clarke
