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I love the prayer immediately following the Our Father during Mass, when the Priest says:
Deliver us, Lord, from every evil, and grant us peace in our day. In your mercy keep us free from sin and protect us from all anxiety as we wait in joyful hope for the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ.
In the pro-life work that we all do, we feel the constant anxiety, we see the evil all about us, we lose our peace of mind, and maybe forget that the fight is the Lord’s. But how can we not feel the exhaustion that comes with battle? We find friends in whom we confide our doubts, share our fears.
These are healthy and normal. They show that we care.
We care about the slaughter of innocents.
We care about the mothers and fathers.
We care about the corruption of medicine, nursing, and the political process.
We care about our nation.
We care about our communities riven by the strife that accompanies abortion.
We care. Deeply. Passionately. And sometimes it can become distracting.
Through it all the Church prays that beautiful prayer tens of thousands of times a day, all over the world, in every tongue. It’s medicine for our souls, “Deliver us Lord from EVERY evil, and grant us PEACE in our day” That peace isn’t the absence of conflict, but the ability to manage it and triumph over it. God’s peace, Shalom–peace in the midst of chaos.
“Keep us free from all anxiety as we wait in joyful hope for the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ”. With Shalom, we need not fear, and in this fist part of the season of Advent, we turn our hearts and minds, not to Christmas, but to that day when, “every tear will be wiped away.”
It’s a good time for us to look toward the promise and its fulfillment, to take time and sit in silent stillness with Jesus, to ask Him to nourish our souls not just with wishful thinking, but with “Joyful Hope.”
Jeremy Camp captures the Joyful Hope in his beautiful song with lyrics and video below.
Happy Advent!
There Will Be A Day (Lyrics)
I try to hold on to this world with everything I have
But I feel the weight of what it brings, and the hurt that trys to grab
The many trials that seem to never end, His word declares this truth,
that we will enter in this rest with wonders anew
But I hold on to this hope and the promise that He brings
That there will be a place with no more suffering
There will be a day with no more tears, no more pain, and no more fears
There will be a day when the burdens of this place, will be no more, we’ll see Jesus face to face
But until that day, we’ll hold on to you always
I know the journey seems so long
You feel your walking on your own
But there has never been a step
Where you’ve walked out all alone
Troubled soul don’t lose your heart
Cause joy and peace he brings
And the beauty that’s in store
Outweighs the hurt of life’s sting
I can’t wait until that day where the very one I’ve lived for always will wipe away the sorrow that I’ve faced
To touch the scars that rescued me from a life of shame and misery this is why this is why I sing….
There will be a day with no more tears, no more pain, and no more fears
There will be a day when the burdens of this place, will be no more, we’ll see Jesus face to face
There will be a day, He’ll wipe away the stains, He’ll wipe away the tears, He’ll wipe away the tears…..there will be a day.
Amen! Come Quickly Lord!
There is much to consume our hearts and lives even when we mean well. Thank you Gerald, and Rebecca!
May we know the rule of God over all our lives and be strengthened by His Holy Spirit to grow in His grace and wisdom. Yes, Come LORD Jesus, Come~
Shalom.