I don’t know about you but I’ve always had something of an aversion to those sayings, oftentimes one-liners, that we can frequently say to each other, especially when someone is going through a difficult time. Expressions like “everything happens for a reason,” can easily roll off our tongue and they are well intentioned to be sure but oftentimes when they come out of our mouths, maybe when I hear them especially come out of my mouth they can sound kind of hollow, a little trite, and rarely actually bring the comfort we intend for the person we are talking to who is going through a rough time. Surely Paul’s words in the second reading today must fall into this category of a trite expression. Well intentioned to be sure but not really capable of delivering much comfort to those of us who are in need of it today. How could he possibly say something as absurd as, “I consider that the sufferings of the present as nothing as compared to the glories to be revealed in us.”