Immersed in Christ: December 3, 2020

Thursday of the First Week of Advent

Praise God for Security

“Trust in the Lord forever! For the Lord is an eternal Rock..”

“Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse.”

God has given us “a strong city.” In the Church “he sets up walls and ramparts to protect us.” In spite of all her faults and human weaknesses, the Church is:

a community that is just,

one that keeps faith,

a community of firm purpose.

We praise God for this: “You keep your Church in peace; in peace, for its trust in you.”

If we praise God for this—consciously and with awareness—we will appreciate how much peace we do find in the Church. How “strong a city” she really is. That the Church does “keep faith”; that she is characterized by “firm purpose.” Praise makes us aware.

We can notice the good, or we can notice the bad. To praise is to focus on the good. What we praise we will appreciate. What we appreciate gives us joy. Then we will praise God even more:

I will give thanks to you, for you have answered me

and have been my Savior…

It is better to take refuge in the Lord

than to trust in anything human.

DAILY PRACTICE: Be aware. Notice. Be aware of the underlying strength and fidelity of the Church. Don’t let the parts blind you to the whole.

ADVENT PRAYER: “Lord, open to me the gates of truth. I will enter them and give thanks to the Lord.”

View Today's Readings Here