Those who consider religion boring must not know the Lord God. He is constantly doing stupendous, amazing things.

• Jesus appeared to Saul, the fiercest opponent of Christians. With great power, Jesus converted him into the greatest evangelist ever (Acts 9:15ff).
• At the very time some Catholics are losing faith in their Church, many Protestants are converting to the Catholic Church. Some Protestant pastors have even brought their entire congregations with them into the Church.
• Youth are populating the pro-life movement in large numbers, bringing new vigor and hope to veteran pro-lifers.
• Men's movements abound with testimonies of men set free from alcoholism, sexual sins, and other compulsions. Their marriages, families, and faith have been made new.

Have you ever felt that any individual or group is beyond God's power to change? Do you feel trapped in a situation that appears to have no way out? Is your hope fading? "Fix your eyes on Jesus" (Heb 3:1) and renew your hope in Him. The Lord is a God of wonders. "Nothing is more apt to confirm our faith and hope than holding it fixed in our minds that nothing is impossible with God" (Catechism, 274). Today's readings proclaim that His ways are incredibly far above our ways (Is 55:8-9). There is always hope, and "this hope will not leave us disappointed" (Rm 5:5). "Eye has not seen, ear has not heard, nor has it so much as dawned on man what God has prepared for those who love Him" (1 Cor 2:9).

Rescript:  †Most Reverend Carl K. Moeddel, Vicar General and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, October 27, 2005

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