May the Lord give you peace and health in the Holy Spirit. We celebrate the memorial of St Alphonsus Liguori, Bishop and Doctor of the Church. The founder of the Redemptorist congregation. The patron of moral theologians. He is well-known in the field of spiritual and dogmatic theology. The Glories of Mary and Visits to the Blessed Sacrament books are classics.
How often do we face God?
Facing God daily empowers us to cope with the race we are in.
“God has humbled Himself, but man is still proud,” teaches St. Augustine.
Moses used to enter the tent of the meeting. As soon as he entered, the Lord’s presence would descend as the pillar of God on the tent of meeting. “The Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend.” (Ex. 33:11).
The tent of the meeting is more of a presence than a place. It is the realization of God’s presence and making a home for the Lord in our lives. However clumsy, choppy, and cracked our lives be, we can still make room for the Lord who alone deserves the space in our lives. God shows God’s countenance and glory to all those who prepare the space in our lives as often as we could.
Coming to the Lord is like an experience of returning to our most intimate friends’ homes. God wants to listen to us and allow us to listen to God. The intimacy between God and Moses was remarkable and achievable in our life when we are willing to enter the tent of meeting regularly not for consulting and communicating but to be soaked in the presence of the Lord and eventually be cleansed from all that troubles us spiritually and materially.
Do we go into the tent of the meeting? How often do we present ourselves to the Lord?
It is good to whisper the prayer of Moses, “If I have found favour in your eyes, then let the Lord go with us, forgive our wickedness and our sin and take us as your inheritance.” (Ex.34:8).
The presence of God is always available to us so tangibly, visible and vividly in the Most Blessed Sacrament, and in the presence of the vulnerable and the voiceless.
We all long to come home where we can be the person we are without masks or make-up. Freedom and the friendly atmosphere we enjoy paves the path of intimacy among the members of the family. The explanation, experiences, and expressions of love are possible when we come home.
The Gospel warns us of the dangers of eschatological punishment and the final triumph of Christ over sin, Satan, and Death.
May we come home to the Lord and be at home with the Lord. God bless you.