One of the most fascinating things when you visit the Mediterranean lands such as Greece, Italy, Egypt, and Turkey are the historical sites of castles, temples, and cities that now lie in ruins. Each of those sites tell a story of a “golden age” when these places were sites of glamor, wealth, and influence. In their current state, they tell of a past, an end, and a death.
In our first reading today from the book of the Prophet Haggai, we continue reflecting on the return of the Israelites from exile in Babylon. They found their influential city and magnificent temple in Jerusalem all in ruins. Everything had fallen apart while they were in exile. Before them stood a depressing state of hopelessness when they looked at what had happened to the city and especially the temple that King Solomon had spent so much on building.
A Message of Encouragement
The Lord through the Prophet Haggai gives them a message of encouragement and hope. He opens with a question “Who among you saw this house in its former glory? Now take courage. I am with you. Fear not. I will shake all the nations so that the treasures of all the nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with glory. The latter glory of this house shall be far greater than the former.” In a nutshell the Lord said, I will rebuild or restore this place no matter how bad everything had fallen apart. In fact, He said, what He can rebuild will supersede what they had seen in the past - “the latter splendor shall be far greater than the former.”
The temple being written about is a representation of our lives, our homes, our families, our communities or the institutions we care about. All these aspects of our world can go through a period of exceptional success and at some point, they may experience a decline, a fall or a crisis. They can lie in ruins, and we wonder whether anything will ever become of them again.
A Message of Hope
The words that the Lord addressed to the Israelites through the Prophet Haggai are words addressed to each one of us. The Lord gives us hope and assures us that He is capable of rebuilding something new or restoring what has fallen apart to levels that way supersede what we have seen in the past! We have seen institutions, relationships, and spiritual lives basically fall apart. In our estimation, we may not envision anything new coming out of them anymore. If it was a family relationship or friendship, we may write it off as beyond repair; or if it is an institution, we may count it as simply irredeemable. Today the Lord is reminding us never to underestimate what God can do!
Reflection Question: Is there an aspect of our life or our world where we long to see renewal or restoration? Is it in our spiritual life, our family life, our friendships, our Church or our community? What would we like to see the Lord rebuild?
May we in this Mass ask the Lord to renew our confidence in Him. May we ask His grace to renew, to heal, and to restore our world. Amen.
- Today’s Readings
- Father Fred's inspirational homily was recorded live during Mass at the Father Peyton Center this morning. You can view the Mass (and the Rosary at the 30-minute mark) on the Family Rosary YouTube page.
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