6th Sunday in Ordinary Time
This Sunday’s Liturgy is like a double-edged sword. The first reading, taken from the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah, is piercingly clear: “Cursed is the one who trusts in human beings” and “Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord.” It is a curse and a blessing that accompany us throughout this life and are fixed forever when we cross the threshold of eternity. But what does this trust in oneself or in God consist of?
Fr. Lorenzo Scupoli, an important 16th century author, wrote a work entitled Spiritual Combat – which became a reference in matters of interior life for St. Francis de Sales – in which he deals with this subject in a luminous way. According to this priest, distrusting oneself and trusting in God is the key to victory in the arduous struggle for spiritual progress:
“Just as we, who are nothing, can only expect falls, so we must always distrust our strength, on the other hand we must always trust in divine help and assistance to obtain great victories over our enemies; and we will do so if we are perfectly convinced of our weakness and our hearts are filled with a lively and generous trust in infinite goodness.”1
We need to put our full trust in God because, as the prophet says, those who wait on the Lord are like a “tree planted by the waters” that does not fear drought; while those who trust in themselves will see their hearts turn away from the Lord, with the fatal post-mortem consequences that this can bring.
In this Sunday’s Gospel, St. Luke introduces us even further into this truth. From the infinitely wise lips of Our Lord, we hear in detail beatitudes and lamentations that should mark with fire our lives as Catholics committed to the greater glory of God and moved by the desire to win the imperishable crown of eternal happiness.
Indeed, those who trust in themselves become insatiable for economic goods, amusements and pleasures, abundance and fame. Money becomes an idol; pleasures become the payment for a meaningless life; and being well-liked a passing crown… Woe to those who live like this, far from God and trapped in selfishness!
In contrast, those who trust in God have their only reward in Him and in His love. This is why they despise gold and silver, renounce the illicit pleasures of the flesh and are prepared to be slandered and persecuted if fidelity to God demands it. The strength that comes to them from above makes all these things contemptable and insignificant because, to paraphrase the great St. Teresa, God, and God alone, is enough for them! ◊
Notes
1 SCUPOLI, Lorenzo. Combate espiritual. 2.ed. São Paulo: Cultor de Livros, 2021, p.19.
