PEACE AND HEALING
"It is without cost you received; without cost you are to
give." We are called to put into action God's word.
Isaiah paints a
picture of the goodness of God toward his people. "He will be gracious to
you when you cry out." He will give you bread that you need. A voice shall
sound in your ears. "This is the way; walk in it." It is a beautiful
picture of God's goodness, and it is a picture which comes to life for us
during our worship at Mass and during our times of prayer.
At the beginning of
Mass we call out to God, "Lord, have mercy on us." That is more than
a plea that God forgive our sins, for "mercy" includes all that we
understand by the words "love" and "kindness." Our first prayer of the Mass is a request that
God show us His loving concern and His guidance as a Shepherd. Our Father is
then indeed gracious to us. He does not hide nor is He deaf to our prayer.
Rather, God speaks to us in the words of sacred scripture. As we listen to the
teaching of the Gospels, we come to realize that it is God's voice sounding in
our ears and saying to us the following. "This is the way; walk in
it."
We hear Jesus in
the Gospels say that the kingdom of heaven is at hand. "It is without cost
you received; without cost you are to give." We are called to put into
action God's word.
Points to Pray and Ponder: Advent season it is a great time for us to pray
that hearing God's word we receive it as being the way and learn to walk in
it. God who loves us will help us in our
walk that leads us home to His eternal heavenly kingdom.