Monday 26 September

Job 1:6-12, Ps 17, Luke 9:46-50

Martyrdom

Job shows faithfulness in abandonment. Job prefigures the aching call of Christ from the cross: My God, my God why have you abandoned me? (Mt 27:46).
This abandonment is the absence of the Father in the midst of healthy and faithful discipleship. Like a thief in the night, the Father withdraws. Practically the disciple’s ministry may collapse, leaders once close may abandon him, but more painful is the absence in the soul, of consolation or desolation. This experience has its own purpose. It humbles the soul, increases its faith, and prepares it to receive the greater love (John 15:13).