The hope of the resurrection was what inspired the seven sons and their mother to endure the sufferings recounted in 2 Maccabees 7. That the doctrine of the resurrection is true was affirmed by Jesus in the Gospel reading from Luke 20. The truth of the resurrection means that this life does have meaning and that we are responsible for the kind of stewardship we practice with the time, talent, and treasure God entrusts to us in this life. But we don’t have to try to live as good stewards by our own efforts alone. In the reading from 2 Thessalonians, St. Paul tells us that God through his grace encourages and strengthens us.
