"WHEN WE ARE WEAK, WE BECOME STRONG"

Readings: 2 Corinthians 12:1—10; Matthew 6:24-34

Like yesterday, the emphasis is on our worries. If we are going to worry, let it be over what is more worthwhile - the welfare of our souls more so than the welfare of our bodies. St. Paul mentions something that can worry us all: our WEAKNESSES.

We all have weaknesses - for both the harmless and the not so harmless. Some people have a weakness for sweets and snacks, others for cigarettes and liquor. Some people have a weakness for shopping, others for shoplifting. We all find in ourselves a weakness for the sinful. Different varieties, of course, but can any of us say there is not something sinful we tend towards? Though he doesn’t spell out for us exactly what it is, Paul admits he too had his own private weaknesses. But then says God permits him to have them for his benefit, not for his destruction.

“In order that I might not be conceited,” he tells us, “I was given a thorn in the flesh, an angel of Satan to beat me and keep me from getting proud. Three times I begged the Lord that this might leave me. He said to me, ‘My grace is enough for you, for in weakness power reaches perfection.’ And so I willingly boast of my weaknesses instead, that the power of Christ may rest upon me ... When I am powerless, it is then that I am strong.”

It seems our weaknesses have a purpose. Place yourself in the hands of Christ and let his strength become yours.