Homily for Thursday, Week 30 of Ordinary Time

Homily for Thursday
30th Week of Ordinary Time

Oct. 31, 2024
Eph 6: 10-20
Christian Brothers, St. Joseph’s Residence, N.R.

“Draw your strength from the Lord and from his mighty power” (Eph 6: 10).

Today Paul paints a dark picture of the world we live in—perhaps as dark today as it was in his time and place—a world ruled in large part by the powers of darkness.  It’s dark in Gaza and Lebanon; in Ukraine, Sudan, the eastern Congo, Nigeria; in the South China Sea, in the worlds of drug cartels and human trafficking; even in an election in which the Pope advises us to choose the lesser evil—which means still to choose evil (unless you want to cast a protest vote for a 3d party; there’s one whose platform aligns with Catholic social teaching).

Nevertheless, the Pope continues to preach hope, which is the theme for the coming Jubilee Year.  We have hope because the armor of God (6:11) protects us; faith shields us (6:16).  By the mighty power of the Word of God—enfleshed into our world in the person of Jesus Christ—we are “able to stand firm against the tactics of the Devil” (6:17,11).

The tactics of the Devil won momentarily in the Sanhedrin, the court of Pontius Pilate, and Calvary.  But the strategic victory is revealed in “the mystery of the Gospel” (6:19), in the power of Christ’s resurrection.

Prayer by Antoni Piotrowski

For God’s help, we rely upon prayer:  “With all prayer and supplication, pray at every opportunity in the Spirit” (6:18).  That’s a vital ministry of God’s people, whom the Fathers of the Church call the soul of the world—the world’s life, the world’s hope.  We place our confidence in him who is the light that overcomes the darkness of the Devil and his world.