“But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.”

Paul is pretty direct today. If Christ has not been raised, then our faith is in vain. But He has been raised. That is where our hope comes from. Not from ourselves, not from how well we perform, but from Christ.

Then in the Gospel, we hear about the women who followed Jesus and “provided for them out of their resources.” That really struck me this morning. These women had been healed by Christ, and their response was to follow Him and use what they had to serve Him.

It made me think that sometimes I need to be almost shamed by their example. Not shame that tells me I am not good enough, because that can lead me right back to relying on myself and worrying about my own performance. But the kind that makes me look at their example and ask myself, what am I doing with everything God has given me?

I wrote down this morning that I need humble trust in God. I think that ties these readings together for me. Christ has risen, so my hope is in Him. And like these women, my response should simply be to follow Him and be a good steward of whatever He has given me.

Lord, give me the grace of humble trust in You today. Help me stop relying on myself and worrying about whether I am good enough. Help me use what You have given me to serve You and others well.

Saint Joseph, help me to quietly and faithfully steward what God has entrusted to me, pray for us.

I pray each of you gets the graces you need today.

Keep up the good fight.

I am praying for you, please pray for me.

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 15:12-20; Luke 8:1-3