INDEPENDENCE DAY (USA) (OPTIONAL MEMORIAL)

Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them?

St. Teresa of Ávila once prayed, “God save us from gloomy saints!”   Now, she wasn’t saying that saints need to go about with plastered-on smiles.   She was getting at what Jesus told the disciples of John in today’s Gospel (Matthew 9:14 – 17): when he is with us, his presence lifts us up and comforts us.

Does this mean that you will never feel sad?   Or that if you do feel sad, you are not being a good Christian?   Of course not!   But knowing that Jesus is with you can be a source of tremendous comfort and contentment in the midst of hard circumstances.   Let’s reflect on this a bit more:

“Jesus, you are with us!   You became man so that you could be close to us—to walk with us in person, to love us in person, to heal us in person, to teach us in person.   As a man, you understand what we go through.   You felt disappointment and sorrow.   And you felt joy and happiness.   You are close to the whole Church, your bride, but you are also close to me personally.

“Jesus, you are with us!   We are in that in-between period, Lord, when you are no longer with us in person, but we haven’t yet been brought into your heavenly presence.   Thank you for sending us the Holy Spirit to be our Comforter while we await your return.   Thank you for giving us the Spirit in the sacraments, in the Scriptures, and in our own hearts—so that we can be confident that you are always with us, ‘until the end of the age’ (Matthew 28:20).   By your Spirit, help me trust that you walk arm in arm with me in my sorrows and my joys.

“Jesus, our Bridegroom, I will rejoice in you!   I can’t control the things life brings my way, but I can control how I respond.   So I will try not to let anything rob me of the peace and joy I have in you—not relationship problems, not conflict in the world, not politics, not financial worries.   Even in sickness, I will accept your invitation to walk more closely with you.   And so I will rejoice in you.”

“Jesus, I believe you are always with me!   Help me to cast aside all gloominess and find joy in your presence!”

Amos 9:11-15
Psalm 85:9-14