Daily Thought For October 18, 2020
Keep Alert & Stand Firm In Your Faith
"Keep alert, stand firm in your faith, be courageous. Let all that you do be done in love" (1 Cor 16:13-14). But what does it mean to be courageous? It means to overcome evil in all its forms. The worst evil is sin, which causes all sorts of suffering and can even lurk within us, negatively affecting our behaviour. And so, while it is right to be committed to the struggle against evil in its public and social manifestations, the first duty of believers is to fight against sin, the root of all the forms of evil which can take root in the human heart, and to resist its enticements with God's help.
Be assured that God does not hinder or waste your youth, nor does he disturb your happiness. On the contrary! Far from imposing limitations, God's power gradually brings about the growth of the whole person in body, mind and heart, a deepening of faith and the expansion of your love for yourselves, for your neighbour and for all earthly and spiritual realities. If you learn to be open to God's initiative, you will experience the power of the "one who is fully alive, Christ eternally young" (Message of the Second Vatican Council to Young People).
Jesus wants you to have life, and to have it in abundance (cf. Jn 10:10). The life which is revealed to us in God, while it may at times appear difficult, provides direction and deep meaning along the path of human development. The Church's traditions, the sacramental life and a constant recourse to prayer are not just duties or rites to be performed. Rather, they are unfathomable sources of grace which can enliven your youth and help it to grow in virtue, apostolic zeal and true hope.
St. John Paul II Message To The Young People of Cuba (January 23, 1008)