Wednesday of the
Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time
(Revelation 15:1-4; Luke 21:12-19)
Both readings today proclaim the ultimate triumph of Christians
who persevere. The first reading
pictures Christian soldiers making music over the ash heap of their impious
foes. The gospel passage ends with Jesus’
assuring those who remain faithful that their lives will be secured. Such an overwhelming victory is hardly what
we experience in everyday life.
A news report today focused on the war in Yemen. Unknown to many Americans, the war is taking a costly toll on children. According to the report, 85,000 children under five years of age have died of starvation and related disease in the middle eastern country. Such evil occurs all too frequently in our world. Yet we run across goodness as
well all the time. Groups of Catholics and oth4r people of good will are accompanying immigrants to hearings to assure their fair treatment. We seem to endlessly live in that
wheat field where the enemy has sown weeds. We may count on good and bad coexisting until the end of time.
This dualism reflects the struggle going on in our
hearts. We feel the urge to act
sinfully. Perhaps we want to tell an
egregious lie to spite someone we don’t like.
Or maybe we dream of abandoning our families for a more adventurous
lifestyle. With God’s reliable grace we
will be able to overcome these wicked impulses.
More significantly, with the same we will be able to love God and
neighbor continuously. This love will
assure us a place in the symphony making music over our sins.
