Thursday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time
August 31, 2023
Daily Reading from the USCCB: 1 Thessalonians 3:7-13
Paul reaches out affectionately to the Thessalonian Christians. He is grateful for them and looks forward to being with them. He prays that God will make them grow in holiness, so that they may abound in love and be ready for the second coming of the Lord Jesus.
All Christian ministry is directed toward sanctification–toward preparing people for the second coming of the Lord. That’s why there is preaching in the Church. That’s the purpose of the sacraments. That’s why Church ministers teach: to strengthen the hearts of the faithful and make them blameless in holiness.
The life of the individual Christian believer of today is directed toward growth in love. May the Lord strengthen my heart and make me blameless in holiness.
