Today is Monday, August 25, Monday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time.
We read at today’s Mass, “We give thanks to God always for all of you, remembering you in our prayers, unceasingly calling to mind your work of faith and labor of love and endurance in hope of our Lord Jesus Christ, before our God and Father, knowing, brothers and sisters loved by God, how you were chosen” (1 Thes 1:2-4).
In just a single sweeping sentence, St. Paul outlines the entire Christian life. His words to the Thessalonians capture the pattern of our faith and the source of our hope.
Paul begins where every disciple should: with gratitude. “We give thanks to God always for all of you.” Thanksgiving is the Christian’s first posture. Before achievements or struggles, before petitions or confessions, we begin by acknowledging God’s goodness and the gift of one another.
Looking to the virtues
Next, Paul points to the three theological virtues — faith, hope and love. But notice how concrete he makes them. Faith is not abstract; it is a “work.” Love is not sentimental; it is a “labor,” something costly and sacrificial. Hope is not passive; it is the power to “endure” trials with perseverance. These virtues are not ideals we chase on our own but gifts given by God that shape our lives in action.
Finally, Paul grounds everything in God’s initiative. We live this way because “we were loved by God and chosen by him.” To be chosen is not a boast but a reassurance: God himself will sustain us. His love protects us from discouragement and from pride.
In a single passage, Paul teaches us to give thanks, to live in faith, hope and love, and to trust the God who chose us. Today, may we remember that being chosen is not about being greater than others, but about relying on the grace that enables us to live as Christ’s own.
Let us pray,
O God, who cause the minds of the faithful to unite in a single purpose, grant your people to love what you command and to desire what you promise, that, amid the uncertainties of this world, our hearts may be fixed on that place where true gladness is found. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.
