Luke 19: 41-44
As Jesus came near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, “If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. Indeed, the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up ramparts around you and surround you, and hem you in on every side. They will crush you to the ground, you and your children within you, and they will not leave within you one stone upon another; because you did not recognize the time of your visitation from God.”
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
The Almighty Dollar Is Not The Almighty
Holidays are coming… Holy days are coming… Vexed by the various voices vying for our attention…reflective days punctuated by the Siren’s call, “SALE!”
And true enough, we have not even reached Thanksgiving yet; and true enough, retail stores and coffee shops have been hawking pumpkin-spiced wares since August. All things peppermint were preternaturally pushed before we had properly celebrated All Saints and All Souls…and Jesus mournfully proclaims, “If this day you only knew what makes for peace, but now it is hidden from your eyes.”
Often times holy days are steamrolled by holidays’ consumptive push for more…whereby we miss the Reason for all the seasons. True peace is only a consumable if we are talking about the Eucharist. In this over-programmed time of the year, calendar time for silent prayer, time for solidarity, and time to get lost in memories of loved ones lost with loved ones present.
—Fr. Aaron Malnick, SJ, is a Vocation Promoter for the Midwest Jesuits and author of Poems to Retreat By: Praying with the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius Loyola. Learn more about Jesuit life at beajesuit.org.
Prayer
Lord, I know that true peace does not come from the next purchase, but through the next encounter with You. Lead me to You in the silence, in solidarity, and in sacrament. Help me to trust in the good You give; it may not be shiny, it might not make me popular with friends and family, but You know my true needs better than I do. Amen.
—Fr. Aaron Malnick, SJ
Pray with the Pope
Pray with the monthly prayer intentions of the pope.