Written by Sr. Rosemary, O.P.
Readings from: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/090319.cfm
For most of us, our days are pretty routine. We get up in the morning, go through our rituals, plan our day and get caught up in lots of activity. Then, at the end of the day, we fall into bed exhausted but already planning the next 24 hours. This is our pace; this is our so called ‘normal’ day.
Then something happens, like a hurricane named Dorian, or an unexpected death, or a life changing event like the need to move away for a new job, etc. Our ‘normal’ life is shaken up and we are forced to go in another direction, a direction that usually changes our life in many ways.
When all is said and done, and when we look back on those times in our lives, we realize it’s these events that really make a difference in our spiritual lives as well. Our faith is tested and our hope is challenged. It’s only then that we rely on God to grace us and be our strength. It’s then that we remember what the last line of our responsorial psalm today instructs us to do:
“Wait for the Lord with courage;
Be stouthearted and wait for the Lord.”
We are challenged to believe that God’s providence will guide us through these changes in due time and that we must keep our hearts directed and focused on Christ, who is ever present to us and with us.
As in our Gospel story, we never know when Christ will come into our daily life, our daily routine. We can always be assured, however, that when Christ comes into our midst, like he came in the midst of the temple, that he will instruct us with authority, and drive away our fears and anxieties. He speaks to our hearts, and we, like the people in the temple, are amazed.
“Wait for the Lord with courage;
Be stouthearted and wait for the Lord.”
