Strength in weakness; Angels: Day 158

The devil has the perfection of  an angel, says St. Augustine, and that makes him proud. Our weakness  and mortality  should help us overcome pride and confess that we can do nothing without God.

Man offended by a kind of strength, so it had to be corrected by weakness. We offended by a certain pride, so it had to be chastened by humility.

All proud people call themselves strong. But “many will come from east and west and sit at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of Heaven” (Matt. 8:11). Why will they be allowed to sit at that table? Because they would not be strong. What do we mean by “would not be strong”? They were afraid to assume their own merits. They did not seek to establish their own righteousness, and they did submit themselves to the righteousness of God.

Look: you’re mortal; and you carry with you a body of flesh that is rotting away. And you will fall like one of the princes. You will die like men, and will fall like the devil. What good does the remedial discipline of mortality do you? The devil is proud, because he does not have a mortal body, since he is an angel. But you have received a mortal body—but even this does you no good: such a great weakness does not humble you. You will fall like one of the princes.

So this is the first grace of God’s gift, to bring us to confess our weakness, so that whatever good we can do, whatever ability we have, we may be that in God. “Let him who boasts, boast of the Lord” (1 Cor. 1:31). “When I am weak,” the apostle says, “then am I strong” (2 Cor. 12:10). –St. Augustine, Exposition on Psalm 39, 15

IN GOD’S PRESENCE, CONSIDER . . .

Have there been problems in my life lately that I just can’t overcome without help? Do I have the wisdom to seek the help of the angels?

CLOSING PRAYER

Lord, do not withhold your heavenly aid from me, for I am unable to overcome what is op- posed to me. Send your angels to save me, Lord, from everything that is against me.

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