Poor odds have never worried God

Throughout the history of the Catholic world we have wondrous examples of God's interventions when the odds have been weighed heavily against the side of the good and the Godly yet, all has come right in the end.



Goliath found out about the power
 of God the hard way

 The Battle of Lepanto, where, following Our Lady's intercessionary plea, the Almighty gave victory to the Holy League against the overwhelming might of the Ottoman Empire is just one of many examples.

In Old Testament times there is the story of Gideon's victory over the Philistines:

When the leader of the 30,000 strong Israelite army, Gideon, faced the Medianite army of 50,000, God told him to get rid of the cowards in his ranks; in so doing, some 20,000 troops left the army.

God again told him to reduce his ranks as He wished to demonstrate His supreme power.

He told Gideon to take the troops to the river to drink and to observe the way in which they drank.

Most of them threw themselves on their stomachs to drink but a few ran upstream and scooped up water with their hands without halting.

“That is your army” said God. 

Gideon was left with just 300 men but they went on to achieve outright victory over the enemy.

Archbishop Fulton Sheen was fond of relating that story as an example of God's power, of how He will respond to our pleas but, more than that, how the issue of being outnumbered or of struggling against the odds is a thing that we should not give in to.

With God's help, anything is possible.

And so, when I read reports of the uphill grind that Rick Santorum faces and when I see the filth that is being trotted out on Facebook and on some anti Catholic blogs, I recall Gideon, Lepanto, Poitiers and other great victories and I say my Rosary - because that makes Santorum the odds on favourite!