22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Jer 20:7-9
Rom 12:1-2
Mt 16:21-27
You have seduced me, Lord, and I have let myself be seduced; you have overpowered me: you were the stronger. I am a daily laughing stock…
Poor Jeremiah. He is very distressed by all the scorn, imprisonment, and death threats he had to endure simply for speaking God’s truth. Called from a young age, Jeremiah became a prophet who valiantly went forth to proclaim hard truths despite the opposition he faced. He doggedly pursued the truth with an intense tenacity. This is a man who embodies the cardinal virtue of Fortitude.
The 3 passages today ask us to be set apart from the world. Do we have the courage to do that? Consider Jeremiah. He is lamenting his fate, because he set out to do what he was tasked to do. It was not easy, but he did not shrink from that responsibility but rose up braver than anything. Jeremiah showed fortitude. He showed courage and strength. Here is where it gets interesting — Jeremiah is known as The Weeping Prophet because of his mourning and grief for the people who chose not to listen to God’s word. A crying man who sorrows so much is hardly the usual example of a strong man. But Jeremiah is incredibly strong and resilient, because we are not judging him by worldly standards.
While fortitude implies strength, it is less a physical strength and more a strength of mind to do the right thing when it is difficult to do so. It is a gift of the Holy Spirit, and it enables us to pursue the good with perseverance and courage, and to face down challenges while being firm in our purpose. What Jeremiah did with his life was to bravely uphold the truth while risking his life for it.
There are 4 cardinal virtues: fortitude, prudence, temperance, justice. Fortitude underlies the others. Fortitude is the quality that allows you to pursue the truth and the right course of action to take, when taking it is difficult or dangerous. It is easy for me to say no to bubble tea because I am not a fan; but if you dangle a cup of hot, fragrant, freshly brewed coffee in front of me, I am predisposed to give in and consume my 3rd or 4th cup, even before lunchtime. With fortitude, I am able to resist that temptation and make a better choice, but not without an inner struggle. It is easy to mete out justice when you are impartial. But it is very difficult to mete out justice to someone close to you. Fortitude can push you in the right direction, because the true loving option is correction instead of allowing them to continue down the wrong path, even if correction could cost you the relationship.
As we are called to do the will of God, to take up our cross and follow Jesus, we need fortitude to do so — to be laughed at, to be scorned, to be attacked. How do we get fortitude? To begin with, we need to dedicate our lives to God so that he can lead us daily o walk closer to him. Then, we need to lean on the strength of God for self denial and self mastery, to reject what is not of God, to take control of our appetites and desires so they do not lead us astray. Once we are able to achieve that, we can then be able to make the right decisions, to choose the way of God over the way of the world.
It is certainly not easy to do this. Ironically, it takes great strength to let go of attachments and submit entirely to the will of God. Even Peter was flabbergasted at what Jesus planned to do. This does not necessarily make him, or us, weak. It just makes us human. Alright, I suppose it does make us not strong enough. This is where reliance on God comes in. And recognising that we need to rely on God takes humility; and humility, once again, requires fortitude. Too often we think we can handle things on our own, and we refuse to ask for help. When we wish to do the will of God, we do absolutely need God’s help, and we also need to actively ask for it instead of assuming he will zap us with whichever virtue we need.
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, as we all journey together to do the will of our Lord, we can find strength in one another too. This week, let us pray for one another, that we may find courage in God to let him transform us into living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God. Let us also pray for strength for ourselves to let go of just one thing that is keeping us away from him, that is holding us prisoner in the ways of the world. We start small, and be consistent in our efforts. May the peace and love of our Lord be with you all.
(Today’s OXYGEN by Felicia Zou)
Prayer: Almighty Father, we offer you our entire day, our prayers, works, joys, and sorrows; that they may contribute towards our sanctification and that of the whole church. Lead us, Lord, that we may not go astray.
Thanksgiving: Dear Lord, we thank You for Your unending love and patience for us, even when we fall so many times.
OXYGEN 
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