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From: Romans 8:31b-39

Trust in God

[31b] If God is for us, who is against us? [32] He who did not spare
his own Son but gave him up for us all, will he not also give us all
things with him? [33] Who shall bring any charge against God's elect?
It is God who justifies; [34] who is to condemn? Is it Christ Jesus,
who died, yes, who was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand
of God, who indeed intercedes for us? [35] Who shall separate us from
the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or
famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? [36] As it is written, "For
they sake we are being killed all day long; we are regarded as sheep
to be slaughtered."

[37] No, in all things we are more than conquerors through him who loved
us. [38] For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor
principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,
[39] nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in creation, will be able
to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Commentary:

31-39. The elect will emerge unscathed and victorious from all attacks,
dangers and sufferings and will do so not through their own efforts but
by virtue of the all-powerful aid of him who has loved them from all
eternity and who did not hesitate to have his own Son die for their
salvation. It is true that as long as we are on this earth we cannot
attain salvation, but we are assured that we will attain it precisely
because God will not withhold all the graces we need to obtain this
happy outcome: all that is needed is that we desire to receive this
divine help. Nothing that happens to us can separate us from the Lord
--not fear of death or love of life, not the bad angels or devils, not
the princes or the powers of this world, nor the sufferings we undergo
or which threaten us nor the worst that might befall us. "Paul
himself", St John Chrysostom reminds us, "had to contend with numerous
enemies. The barbarians attacked him; his custodians laid traps for
him; even the faithful, sometimes in great numbers, rose against him;
yet Paul always came out victorious. We should not forget that the
Christian who is faithful to the laws of his God will defeat both men
and Satan himself" ("Hom. on Rom.", 15).

This is the attitude which enables us to live as children of God, who
fear neither life nor death: "Our Lord wants us to be in the world and
to love the world but without being worldly. Our Lord wants us to
remain in this world--which is now so mixed up and where the clamor of
lust and disobedience and purposeless rebellion can be heard--to teach
people to live with joy [...]. Don't be afraid of the paganized world:
our Lord has in fact chosen us to be leaven, salt and light in this
world. Don't be worried. The world won't harm you unless you want it
to. No enemy of our soul can do anything if we don't consent. And we
won't consent, with the grace of God and the protection of our Mother
in heaven" (S. Bernal, "Monsignor Josemaria Escriva de Balaguer", p.
213).

31. This exclamation of the Apostle vividly reveals the full extent of
the love of God the Father, who not only listens to our prayers but
anticipates our needs. God is with us, he is always by our side. This
is a cry expressing confidence and optimism, despite our personal
wretchedness; it is firmly based on our sense of divine sonship.
"Clothed in grace, we can cross mountains (cf. Ps 103:10), and climb
the hill of our Christian duty, without halting on the way. If we use
these resources with a firm purpose and beg our Lord to grant us an
ever increasing hope, we shall possess the infectious joy of those who
know they are children of God: 'If God is for us, who is against us?'
(Rom 8:31) Let us be optimists. Moved by the power of hope, we shall
fight to wipe away the trail of filth and slime left by the sowers of
hatred. We shall find a new joyful perspective to the world, seeing
that it has sprung forth beautiful and fair from the hands of God. We
shall give it back to him with that same beauty" ([St] J. Escriva, "Friends
of God", 219).

38-39. "Angels", "principalities": names of different angelic
hierarchies (cf. Eph 1:21; 3:10); also a possible reference to fallen
angels, demons (cf. 1 Cor 15:24; Eph 6:12). "Powers" can mean the same
as "angels" and "principalities".

"Height" and "depth" may refer to cosmic forces which, in the culture of
that time, were thought to have some influence over the lives of men.

By listing these powerful superior forces (real or imaginary) St Paul is
making the point that nothing and nobody, no created thing, is stronger
than God's love for us.

Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text
taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries
made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of
Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock,
Co. Dublin, Ireland.

From: Luke 13:31-35

Jesus' Reply to Herod

[31] At that very hour some Pharisees came, and said to him (Jesus),
"Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you." [32] And he said to
them, "Go and tell that fox, 'Behold, I cast out demons and perform
cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I finish my course.
[33] Nevertheless I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the day
following; for it cannot be that a prophet should perish away from
Jerusalem.'

Jerusalem Admonished

[34] "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, killing the prophets and stoning those
who are sent to you! How often would I have gathered your children
together as a hen gathers her brook under her wings, and you would
not! [35] Behold, your house is forsaken. And I tell you, you will not
see me until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the
Lord.'"

Commentary:

31-33. This episode apparently took place in the Perea region which,
like Galilee, was under the jurisdiction of Herod Antipas (cf. Lk
3:1), a son of Herod the Great (cf. note on Mt 2:1). On other occasions
St. Luke mentions that Herod was keen to meet Jesus and see him perform
a miracle (cf. Lk 9:9; 23:8). These Pharisees may be giving Jesus the
warning just to get him to go away. Jesus calls Herod--and indirectly
his accomplices--a "fox", once again showing his rejection of duplicity
and hypocrisy.

Jesus' answer shows them he is completely in command of his life and
death: he is the Son of God and his Father's will is his only governor
(cf. Jn 10:18).

34. Jesus here shows the infinite extent of his love. St Augustine
explores the meaning of this touching simile: "You see, brethren, how a
hen becomes weak with her chickens. No other bird, when it is a mother,
shows its maternity so clearly. We see all kinds of sparrows building
their nests before our eyes; we see swallows, storks, doves, every day
building their nests; but we do not know them to be parents, except
when we see them on their nests. But the hen is so enfeebled over her
brood that even if the chickens are not following her, even if you do
not see the young ones, you still know her at once to be a mother. With
her wings drooping, her feathers ruffled, her note hoarse, in all her
limbs she becomes so sunken and abject, that, as I have said, even
though you cannot see her young, you can see she is a mother. That is
the way Jesus feels" ("In Ioann. Evang.", 15, 7).

35. Jesus shows the deep sorrow he feels over Jerusalem's resistance to
the love God had so often shown it. Later St Luke will record Jesus'
weeping over Jerusalem (cf. Lk 19:41). See also the note on Mt 23:37-
39.

[The note on Mt 23:37-39 states:

Jesus' moving remarks seem almost to sum up the entire history of
salvation and are a testimony to his divinity. Who if not God was the
source of all these acts of mercy which marks the stages of the history
of Israel? The image of being protected by wings, which occurs often in
the Old Testament, refers to God's love and protection of his people. It
is to be found in the prophets, in the canticles of Moses (cf. Deut 32:11),
and in many psalms (cf. 17:8; 36:8; 57:2; 61:5; 63:8). "And you
would not": the Kingdom of God has been preached to them unremittingly
for centuries by the prophets; in these last few years by Jesus himself,
the Word of God made man. But the "Holy City" has resisted all the
unique graces offered it. Jerusalem should serve as a warning to every
Christian: the freedom God has given us by creating us in his image and
likeness means that we have this terrible capacity to reject him. A
Christian's life is a continuous series of conversions--repeated
instances of repentance, of turning to God, who, loving Father that he
is, is every ready to forgive.