Today’s Theme for Prayer – Jesus Unites Me to His Body
“For the Souls in Purgatory – Eternal rest grant unto them O Lord”
How Do I Grow in Ability to Share and Receive
When Grace Meets Weakness
Eph 4:1-16
I must boast; not that it is profitable, but I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord. I know someone in Christ who, fourteen years ago—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows—was caught up to the third heaven. And I know that this person—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows—was caught up into Paradise and heard ineffable things, which no one may utter. About this person I will boast, but about myself I will not boast, except about my weaknesses. Although if I should wish to boast, I would not be foolish, for I would be telling the truth. But I refrain, so that no one may think more of me than what he sees in me or hears from me because of the abundance of the revelations.Therefore, that I might not become too elated, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, an angel of Satan, to beat me, to keep me from being too elated. Three times I begged the Lord about this, that it might leave me, but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses, in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me. Therefore, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and constraints, for the sake of Christ; for when I am weak, then I am strong.
Grace Prayed For
The grace to trust in Christ’s sufficiency, surrendering our weaknesses to His transforming love.
Reflection
Paul speaks of an experience so profound that it cannot be fully expressed—being caught up into Paradise, hearing the unspeakable. Yet, rather than dwell on the glory of his revelation, he turns our gaze to something more intimate: his weakness. A thorn pierces him, humbling him, reminding him that he is not sustained by his own strength but by the grace of Christ.
Here, Jesus invites us into a new way of seeing. Our weaknesses, our trials, even the wounds we plead to be taken away—these are not barriers to holiness but places where grace is poured out most abundantly. Christ does not remove Paul’s suffering; instead, He enters into it. “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” This is the mystery of sanctifying grace: it does not merely cover over our frailties but transforms them into conduits of divine strength.
To belong to the Mystical Body of Christ is to be united with Him in both glory and suffering. As we experience our own “thorns,” we are not abandoned but drawn closer to Jesus, who bore the ultimate wound for our sake. The Body of Christ is made whole not by the strength of its members but by their surrender to grace. When we embrace our weakness in Him, we find a new kind of strength—the strength of Christ dwelling within us.
So we ask: where is Christ’s grace calling us to surrender? What if our weakness is not a failure but an invitation into deeper communion? If we can learn, like Paul, to boast of our weaknesses, we may find ourselves standing in a love that is stronger than our suffering, a grace that carries us beyond what we could ever bear alone.
Growing in Intimacy/Union with Jesus
This passage invites us to deeper intimacy with Jesus by showing us that He does not ask for our perfection—He asks for our surrender. When we acknowledge our weakness, we allow Him to enter in, to dwell within us with His power. Jesus meets us not in our imagined strength, but in our real frailty, teaching us that union with Him is not about self-sufficiency but about abiding in His grace.
When Time Allows Reflect on the Posts in Library and Musings
Sharing
Jesus last words on Earth were to his disciples, can be found in Matthew Chap 28 when Jesus told his disciples, “Then Jesus approached and said to them, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”
Jesus calls all of us to share in his redemptive mission here on Earth. I would ask you to share this Scripture reflection with your family, your friends and your acquaintances, and then share it with a couple of individuals that you may may not be comfortable sharing with, keeping in mind always the words of Jesus, And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age
Author was assisted by AI in the drafting of this Post