Fourth Monday of Ordinary Time

Out of weakness they were made powerful, became strong in battle, and turned back foreign invaders. Women received back their dead through resurrection. Some were tortured and would not accept deliverance, in order to obtain a better resurrection. Others endured mockery, scourging, even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, sawed in two, put to death at sword’s point; they went about in skins of sheep or goats, needy, afflicted, tormented. The world was not worthy of them. They wandered about in deserts and on mountains, in caves and in crevices in the earth. Yet all these, though approved because of their faith, did not receive what had been promised. God had foreseen something better for us, so that without us they should not be made perfect.

We are all weak, but just like the prophets and apostles, if we place our trust in God, we can be made powerful. We can face our spiritual battles with confidence and turn back the temptations that assault us. We can withstand the mockery, persecution, and injuries that others cause us. We can even rise from the dead, knowing that God worked deeds great and small through us. We might not be seen as worth anything in the world. But if we keep the faith, then it will not be us who are unworthy of the world, but rather the world that is unworthy of us. For the heavenly things we will gain by leading Christ-like lives are far better than anything the world can offer us. They are worth more than fame, fortune, or any possession. The reward that waits for us is the Beatific Vision and a life everlasting with the God of Love.

What are our weaknesses? How can we let God transform them into strengths? How can we imitate the prophets, apostles, and more importantly Jesus in our everyday lives?

O Lord, forge our weakness into your strength.

Amen.