OUR LADY OF LORETO (OPTIONAL MEMORIAL)

I, the Lord, your God, . . . lead you in the way you should go.

God’s people are in a terrible state. Jerusalem—especially the Temple where they used to encounter God—is in ruins, and they are living in exile. Clearly, they’ve made a mess of doing what pleases God, and the result has been disastrous. How can they find their way back?

With God’s help, of course. Speaking through his prophet, God promises that he will lead them in the way they should go. He promises to restore them, heal them, and bring them back into his presence.

But sometimes these bedrock truths can seem like little more than pious platitudes, especially when we come face-to-face with our sin as the Israelites did. So let’s join our prayers to those of the exiles and ask God to come alongside us, take us by the hand and show us the way:

“Lord, lead me in the way that I should go. So often, Jesus, I feel like the Israelites, lost and far from you. But when I’m on the wrong path, you are the remedy for my sinful wanderings. You don’t just point me in the right direction. You dwell in me and give me the grace to overcome every temptation. As you promised to lead the Israelites back from exile, help me see and follow the road that leads to you.

“Lord, help me hearken to your commands. I’m trying to “hearken,” to listen with my heart. Help me hear what you’re saying to me today. Help me to be still—to let go of all my distractions long enough to spend time contemplating the miracle of your coming to live among us. That’s what my journey is all about this Advent. As you promised the Israelites, you will bless me as I listen and follow you.

“Lord, give me the ‘prosperity . . . like a river’ that you promise (Isaiah 48:18). Let the riches of your mercy wash over me again and again, like the waves of the sea. Help me to trust that I have been restored to you and that my name will never be blotted out from your presence. As you did for the Israelites, give me confidence and trust that as I listen and follow, I will receive the blessings of your life at work in my heart.”

“Lord, you are my Redeemer. I thank you for all the ways you show me mercy.”

Psalm 1:1-4, 6
Matthew 11:16-19
Isaiah 48:17-19