The Church, in her wisdom, always chooses wonderful readings during each liturgical season. In this first week of Advent we hear some soothing words from the prophet Isaiah. The prophet tells us,”O people of Zion, who dwell in Jerusalem, no more will you weep; He will be gracious to you when you cry out, as soon as he hears he will answer you.” Even though this was spoken to the people of Zion it still applies to us today.
Have you ever had a moment where you felt like you were dying of thirst or exhaustion? I once went on a backpacking trip with my cousins to a remote island in Michigan and on the very first day I got the worst sunburn imaginable. I am a redhead so when I say worst sunburn ever I mean that I was literally the color of a lobster. It was terrible and I would have given anything to have some aloe vera lotion to put on my burns. 15 miles of backpacking with the straps rubbing against my burnt skin was not what I would call a vacation.
As soon as we got back to the mainland I immediately went to a store to get lotion that was instantly soothing. We all have things in our lives that need healing. Maybe for some of us these are more spiritual wounds than physical ones, but we all have them. I think it can be easy to write God off and say that he has other people to care about or maybe even believe that we aren’t worthy of healing, but God wants to heal us. The instant relief of aloe vera lotion for me was a human remedy. Think of how much more God wants to soothe us, heal us, and make us whole.
Today’s first reading makes it clear that God wants this for us. God wants to enter into the very hurt of our lives and bring us His soothing presence and grace. This is one of the reasons that the Sacrament of Reconciliation requires sorrow for sin. It is not so much that we put ourselves down and feel terrible, but quite the opposite. We are required to have sorrow for our sin because that is right where God wants to meet us and heal us. Just like the people in Zion who were told they would no longer weep, God is telling us, as we prepare for his birth at Christmas, that he wants to be a part of our healing journey.
He doesn’t just want to watch as a bystander. He wants to be actively involved in our sorrow, our hurts, our wounds, and our failures. He is the great healer, we just have to let Him heal. Let’s take a moment during this beautiful season of Advent to allow God to show us exactly where we need healing and what we need from Him, and then ask Him for it. Like a loving Father, He longs to hear from us and heal us.
From all of us here at Diocesan, God bless!
La Iglesia, en su sabiduría, siempre elige lecturas maravillosas durante cada temporada litúrgica. En esta primera semana de Adviento, escuchamos unas palabras de consuelo del profeta Isaías. El profeta nos dice: “Pueblo de Sión, que habitas en Jerusalén, ya no volverás a llorar. El Señor misericordioso, al oír tus gemidos, se apiadará de ti y te responderá, apenas te oiga”. Aunque esto fue dicho al pueblo de Sión, todavía se aplica a nosotros el día de hoy.
¿Alguna vez has sentido que te morías de sed o de agotamiento? Una vez fui de mochilero con mis primos a una isla remota de Michigan y el primer día sufrí la peor quemadura solar imaginable. Soy pelirrojo, así que cuando digo la peor quemadura solar de mi vida, quiero decir que literalmente tenía el color de una langosta. Fue terrible y habría dado cualquier cosa por tener un poco de loción de aloe vera para aplicarme en las quemaduras. Caminar 24 kilómetros con las correas rozando mi piel quemada no fue lo que yo llamaría unas vacaciones.
En cuanto regresamos a tierra firme, fui inmediatamente a una tienda a comprar una loción que me alivió al instante. Todos tenemos cosas en la vida que necesitan sanación. Quizás para algunos sean heridas más espirituales que físicas, pero todos las tenemos. Creo que es fácil ignorar a Dios y decir que tiene otras personas a las que cuidar, o incluso creer que no merecemos la sanación, pero Dios quiere sanarnos. El alivio instantáneo de la loción del aloe para mí fue un remedio humano. Piensen en cuánto más desea Dios consolarnos y sanarnos.
La primera lectura de hoy deja claro que Dios quiere esto para nosotros. Dios quiere entrar en el dolor mismo de nuestras vidas y traernos su presencia y gracia reconfortantes. Esta es una de las razones por las que el Sacramento de la Reconciliación requiere arrepentimiento por el pecado. No se trata tanto de que nos menospreciemos y nos sintamos fatal, sino todo lo contrario. Debemos sentir dolor por nuestros pecados porque es ahí donde Dios quiere encontrarnos y sanarnos. Al igual que al pueblo de Sión, al que se le dijo que ya no lloraría, Dios nos dice, mientras nos preparamos para su nacimiento en Navidad, que quiere ser parte de nuestro camino de sanación.
Él no quiere ser solo un espectador. Quiere participar activamente en nuestro dolor, nuestras heridas, nuestras penas y nuestros fracasos. Él es el gran sanador; solo tenemos que dejar que Él sane. Tomemos un momento durante esta hermosa temporada del Adviento para permitir que Dios nos muestre exactamente dónde necesitamos sanación y qué necesitamos de Él, y luego pidámoslo. Como un Padre amoroso, Él anhela escucharnos y sanarnos.
De parte de todos nosotros aquí en Diocesan, ¡Dios los bendiga!
Tommy Shultz is a Business Development Representative for Diocesan. In this role he is committed to bringing the best software to dioceses and parishes while helping them evangelize on the digital continent. Tommy has worked in various diocese and parish roles since his graduation from Franciscan University with a Theology degree. He hopes to use his skills in evangelization, marketing, and communications, to serve the Church and bring the Good News to all. His favorite quote comes from St. John Paul II, who said, “A person is an entity of a sort to which the only proper and adequate way to relate is love.”
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