When he was being tortured by order of the Emperor Diocletian, St. Euplus told his torturer that he had better find other torments more severe, because, strengthened by grace, the tortures were "like a cobweb" to Euplus. This is a reminder to us that we are not to fear those who can kill the body. We are to fear the One Who can condemn the soul to Hell in His justice. Thus, our fear should be of sin, not of death.
St. Euplus also reminds us that God, in His compassion, wants to strengthen us by His grace. We have every reason to trust that whatever trial we suffer, God will give us the grace that is sufficient to endure that trial for our salvation. Thus, we see that being submissive to God, blessing Him in all things, makes suffering and temptation into useful things that bring us closer to Him.
No comments:
Post a Comment