Faithful all one’s life

Let us strive to be loyal as long as we live. If at some stage we feel we are not, let us struggle and ask God for help. And then we will win, because God doesn’t lose battles. Let us place all our wretchedness at Jesus’ feet, so he can triumph, and then you will see how high he is raised and how he helps us divinise our earthly existence.

Weaknesses there will always be

Our weakness always accompanies us even at the best of times, in the most sublime moments of our lives. And so that nothing should surprise us, we have the testimony of the Gospel. At the Last Supper, in the midst of that outpouring of love and of divine confidences, in that gathering of his intimate friends, those who had received the most formation, his favourites, facta est autem contentio inter eos, quis eorum videretur esse maior (Luke 22:24); they began to argue and fight among themselves over which of them was the greatest, the most excellent.

Hence, when we experience any weakness in ourselves (or in others), we should not be surprised. Let us remember all those who, in spite of their undeniable failings, persevered and carried the word of God to all nations and became saints. Let us resolve to fight and to keep going: what counts is perseverance.