I remember being in boot camp in Orlando Florida. You have to remember that when I joined the Navy I was not a practicing Catholic. I had essentially rejected my Catholic faith and so God was not a part of my life then. As you know, boot camp is really about breaking down the individual spirit and rebuilding it into the corporate spirit of a military community. So anything that was not uniform, in conformity to the Navy way, had to be eliminated.

One night, one of the recruits was on watch and apparently he had a religious medal under his shirt. A company commander, which in the Navy is what is more commonly known as the DI, entered. He saw the medal, ordered the recruit to show it to him and then yanked it off his neck. “There,” the commander said. “Where is your God now?”

Even for this non-practicing Catholic, that was a bit harsh.

I am sure that when things go wrong, those words can ring through our minds. Indeed, we often hear people complain when things go wrong that God is no where to be found.

I am also sure that this was an issue for St. Paul talking to the Romans. As I have discussed earlier, the Christians in Rome were suffering from a severe persecution. It is easy for them to ask the question where God is when they would believe that if God is all powerful then they should not be suffering. However, Paul tells them that indeed there is a unique connection between their suffering and God’s power. Staying faithful in the midst of our sufferings leads us to conquer evil through Christ.

When we look at today’s second reading, we can see these powerful words to the Romans and look at them carefully. In the ancient world, and this appears various times in the gospels, the people felt that their suffering was a punishment from God. Indeed, the book of Job is focused almost exclusively on this very issue. The point being that Job’s sufferings are not related to any unfaithfulness regardless of what others may have taught him. His faithfulness in light of his sufferings is what God rewards and what thwarts Satan.

Paul brings this to the Romans who may be thinking that they are being punished by God or losing God’s favor, however, what is really happening is that their faithfulness through their sufferings is conquering Satan. They are also growing stronger in wisdom and learning everyday of the action of God in their lives.

St. Paul actually addresses this through his own experience.

Pope Benedict XVI explained in one of his audiences that Paul lived a painfully difficult life and quotes 1 Corinthinans 4:9-13 in the explanation.

To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are ill-clad and buffeted and homeless, and we labour, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we try to conciliate; we have become, and are now, as the refuse of the world, the scum of all” (1 Cor 4: 9-13)

This, says the Pope, is what St. Paul lived as an Apostle for Christ. His sufferings for Christ became powerful tools for serving Christ.

This is also a lesson for us: Staying faithful in the midst of our sufferings leads us to conquer evil through Christ.

It is a worldly concept that our life should be perfect and that all should go well now. Indeed, look at the warnings we are receiving from psychologists that making sure children don’t feel bad is turning them into narcissists unable to live in the real world.

What Paul is teaching here is that when we are suffering and we are people of faith and we persevere in our faith despite our suffering, we grow in wisdom and grace. This leads us to stand firm against those forces that seek to destroy our witness and the souls of those around us and ourselves.

We want to see this in context. St. Paul in Ephesians chapter 6 talks about spiritual warfare and explains how to fight it. He says the following.

Finally, draw your strength from the Lord and from his mighty power:
Put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the tactics of the devil.
For our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens.
Therefore, put on the armor of God, that you may be able to resist on the evil day and, having done everything, to hold your ground.
So stand fast with your loins girded in truth, clothed with righteousness as a breastplate,
and your feet shod in readiness for the gospel of peace.
In all circumstances, hold faith as a shield, to quench all (the) flaming arrows of the evil one.
And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
With all prayer and supplication, pray at every opportunity in the Spirit. To that end, be watchful with all perseverance and supplication for all the holy ones (Eph 6:10-18 NAB)

Notice something careful in that passage, all the armor he cites is used for defense, with the exception of the Sword of the Spirit, the word of God. So he says that there are spiritual forces that seek to destroy us, but they cannot penetrate our armor providing that we use it.

This means that in the battle for souls, we remain standing. But, it is a battle and we do have to endure it. However, we by default win. The only things we have to do is remain faithful, live our faith and persevere. The Lord gives us the sacraments to help us persevere. Use them. Our perseverance in the faith is what is the weapon that conquers. The sign that others have been conquered, they give up.

We seek to grow in holiness, we seek to remain faithful and we seek to persevere and these three things are tools God uses through us in this battle.

We will go through painful times, persecutions, difficulties, struggles, disappointments, rejection, maybe even disease. Yet, remaining faithful, seeking to grow in holiness and persevering in the faith are three things through which we are conquerors.

Do not be discouraged when you are struggling through whatever crisis, trial, tribulation, difficulty. These are the source of your holiness, these are the elements of the battle. Use them to grow in holiness by staying faithful and persevering in the faith. You will not only see victory in the battle for your soul and others, you will see these are the road to the greatest of joys in Heaven. Staying faithful in the midst of our sufferings leads us to conquer evil through Christ.

God Bless You!

Fr. Robert J Carr

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