Memorial of Saint Pius X, Pope

Whenever the LORD raised up judges for them, he would be with the judge and save them from the power of their enemies as long as the judge lived; it was thus the LORD took pity on their distressful cries of affliction under their oppressors. But when the judge died, they would relapse and do worse than their ancestors, following other gods in service and worship, relinquishing none of their evil practices or stubborn conduct.

Sometimes we can have a lot in common with the Israelites of old. We go through hot and cold periods of faith and sin. We are good for a while, but fall into the same sins over and over again. We can have times of great comfort and joy in the faith, but also dark nights where we get lost. We can feel abandoned by God in our times of trial. Yet, we can also champion the faith like the judges of old. We are sinners, struggling to be saints. God knows this better than any of us and that is why He does all He can to help us to overcome our weaknesses and become better servants to Him and all His children.

What sins are we struggling with? Are we keeping the faith to the best of our abilities, especially when we are in our dark nights of the soul? How can we better resist the temptations that surround us?

O Lord, take pity on us and help us to become better Christians.

Amen.