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Saturday, November 16, 2002

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St. Margaret of Scotland
St. Gertrude


3 John 5-8
Psalm 112
Luke 18:1-8

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"faster than a speeding bullet"

"Will He delay long over them, do you suppose? I tell you, He will give them swift justice." —Luke 18:7-8

God's timing is different than ours. "This point must not be overlooked, dear friends. In the Lord's eyes, one day is as a thousand years and a thousand years are as a day" (2 Pt 3:8). This means that God is both very slow and very fast by our standards. We often emphasize God's supposed slowness. Yet we should also focus on His speed. God sometimes works "in an instant, in the twinkling of an eye" (1 Cor 15:52). God promises to give us "swift justice" (Lk 18:8).

However, the Lord will not force His justice or His swiftness on us. We must pray always and not lose heart (Lk 18:1). Otherwise, we will cause the Lord to delay (Lk 18:7) in stopping the gross injustices of abortion, racism, "ethnic cleansings," starvation, and other catastrophic evils.

To pray always and receive God's swift justice, we must have faith. "Faith is confident assurance concerning what we hope for, and conviction about things we do not see" (Heb 11:1). Faith is a gift which the Lord freely gives. Once again, we must pray to receive faith (Lk 17:5), exercise the faith we have, and nourish our faith through hearing God's word, for faith comes through hearing, and hearing by God's word (Rm 10:17).

Grow in faith; pray always; receive swift justice in a severely unjust world. "The God of peace will quickly crush Satan under your feet" (Rm 16:20). Come Jesus — swiftly!

Prayer:  Father, I will hasten Your Son's final coming (2 Pt 3:12) by my holiness and obedience.

Promise:  "Will not God then do justice to His chosen who call out to Him day and night?" —Lk 18:7

Praise:  St. Gertrude was so devoted to the Passion of Christ that meditations on His sufferings would often move her to tears.

Nihil Obstat:  Reverend Richard L. Klug, April 10, 2002


Imprimatur:  †Most Reverend Carl K. Moeddel, Vicar General and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, April 18, 2002