Optional Memorial of Saint John XXIII, Pope
Life is a struggle. We’re on the battlefield confronting evil twenty-four hours each day. True, baptism freed us from sin, but the water was hardly dry on our brow when we become uncomfortable with issues we do not want to face: choosing sin or virtue. But face them we must.
Jesus came into the world to confront and defeat Satan, the source of evil. His healing of the wounded, the crippled and the blind are symbols of his victory, a victory won in the name of his father. Jesus is the savior of all. In his triumph over sin he established his kingdom in this world as a preview of its perfection in the next.
Our struggles differ in intensity from day to day, but they demand that, with an increase of grace, we develop patience that brings with it courageous fidelity.
Resolve: I shall ask our Savior for patience and fidelity to the Father’s will in my daily struggles, and that he be generous in giving the same grace to others as well. This is what today’s Gospel seems to be about.