Are we comforted by Paul when he writes to the Romans: “…in all things we conquer overwhelmingly through him who loved us,” or does the idea scares us just a little bit? Conquer overwhelmingly? All things we conquer overwhelmingly? Maybe I’m overwhelmed by the idea that our conquest will be overwhelming. Like you, I am pretty much happy just to win one here and there. As long as the win column stays a bit higher than the lose column, I thinking: hey, not bad for a sinner. Then I have to remember that those are all Christ’s wins not mine.

If you’ve never read Fr. Philip Neri’s blog, you need to. He makes me proud to say that I discerned with Dominicans. (grin) The above excerpt came from this post on the readings for the feast of the 1st Martyrs of the Holy Roman Church.

Haven’t you really ever found yourself taking the credit? How many times do we attribute our successes to ourselves? Sometimes, we don’t even do as well as the occasional Grammy award-winner’s “thanks be to God!”

And how often do we feel self-conscious, inadequate, and defeated?

Our spiritual father and Man of the Year is here (Rom 8.31-39) snapping us out of our worldly attitudes! I can just see Father Paul in heaven, yelling at us from the sidelines of our spiritual soccer game- “…in all things we conquer overwhelmingly through him who loved us!”

He wants us to realize:

There is no need to feel self-conscious
There is no need to feel inadequate
There is no need to feel defeated

because we are Christ’s, who has conquered. Everything we do, we do with the King of Everything Good, who never leaves us. And every victory is Christ’s. Every time we decide to avert our eyes, every time we speak charitably, every time we sacrifice time to be with our loved ones, ever time we pray,

these victories are Christ’s.