In light of our personal failings, some of us may not be sure if we have earnestly “worked out our salvation with fear and trembling,” or whether we are more worthy of spiritual chastisements. But we can know whose side we are on vis a vis the arrogant values of this world,  and “lift up our drooping hands and strengthen our weak knees,” redouble our Hope and courage in order to put our feet on the right path in this world as we struggle up the Mountain of Faith against “the lusts of the flesh, the lusts of the eyes and the pride of life” (1 John 2:15-17).

“The penitent thief, also known as the good thief, wise thief, grateful thief, or thief on the cross, is one of two unnamed thieves in Luke’s account of the crucifixion of Jesus in the New Testament. The Gospel of Luke describes him asking Jesus to “remember him” when Jesus comes into his kingdom. The other, as the impenitent thief, challenges Jesus to save himself and both of them to prove that he is the Messiah.

SH