i have confidence!
"Do not, then, surrender your confidence; it will have great reward." —Hebrews 10:35
Has anyone ever misunderstood you? Did they misinterpret you, thinking something of you that was directly opposed to what you really stand for? Did those accusations shake your confidence?
If you answered "yes," you have something in common with St. Thomas Aquinas. Thomas' humility and habitual silence were misinterpreted by classmates as signs of dullness, but when his professor, St. Albert the Great, had heard Thomas read his thesis, he exclaimed to his class: "We call this young man a dumb ox, but his bellowing in doctrine will one day resound throughout the world." Thomas must have rejoiced as he recalled: "If God is for us, who can be against us?" (Rm 8:31)
Thomas didn't have to be vindictive and vengeful as he publicly read his brilliant thesis of divine revelation to his stunned classmates; all of his confidence was put in Jesus Christ (see 2 Cor 3:4). In confidence, Thomas had the "patience to do God's will and receive what He" promised (Heb 10:36).
Be like St. Thomas. Be a man or a woman of the Gospel, and with "great confidence in God" (2 Cor 3:4) defend the Way, the Truth, and the Life (Jn 14:6).
Prayer: Father, let all my confidence be in You and Your Word. I will "confidently approach" You for the help I need (Heb 4:16).
Promise: "Take delight in the Lord, and He will grant you your heart's requests." —Ps 37:4
Praise: Late in life, St. Thomas had a vision of the Lord. He immediately stopped his prolific writing, exclaiming: "I cannot go on...All that I have written seems to me like so much straw compared to what I have seen and what has been revealed to me."
Reference: (This teaching was submitted by a member of our editorial team.)
Nihil Obstat: Reverend Richard Walling, July 7, 2004
Imprimatur: †Most Reverend Carl K. Moeddel, Vicar General and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, July 19, 2004