There have been numerous individuals who, by force of arms, have tried to "conquer the world": Caesar Augustus, Genghis Khan, Napoleon Bonaparte, Adolf Hitler, etc. Joseph Stalin said in 1935: "The Pope. How many divisions does he have?" Yet, we hear in today's Second Reading: "Who is it that conquers the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?" (1 Jn 5: 5) The way Jesus conquered the world is through his victory over sin and death in the Resurrection. His divine mercy is poured out on all who believe in him and in this way they participate in his triumph. Let us not look to impose our will on the world or to fight its injustices by worldly means. We will only be successful when all that we say and do is done with the conviction that Jesus is who he said he was and that he has indeed won for us an eternal victory that helps us to live as a pilgrim people journeying through a world of fear and anxiety to our heavenly home.
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