The Faithful Remnant

December 14, 2021
Tuesday of the Third Week of Advent
Memorial of St. John of the Cross

Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy, we pray with Psalm 34 and its tender verses. They remind us that God has a special love for those who suffer, who are poor, who are humble. That special love allows us to be joyful even in difficulty. It invites us to depend on God when things are roughest for us.

I will bless the LORD at all times;
praise shall be ever in my mouth.
Let my soul glory in the LORD;
the lowly will hear me and be glad.
Psalm 34: 2-3

The LORD is close to the brokenhearted;
and those who are crushed in spirit are saved.
The LORD redeems the lives who serve with love;
no one incurs guilt who takes refuge in God.
Psalm 34: 19,23

In our first reading, the prophet Zephaniah reveals a key promise. After all is said and done, God will remain with those who keep faith. Scripture scholars refer to these faithful ones as “the remnant people” – those whose faith is so strong that it cannot be dislodged from God.

These “remnant people” are the ones who are found ready and waiting when the Savior is born. They are people like Mary and Joseph, Elizabeth and Zechariah, Anna and Simeon.

As we approach the Christmas Promise, may we be among the awaiting faithful too. May we look to the Lord for whom we waited and be “radiant with joy”!

Poetry: Radiant
from “In the Arms of the Beloved” by Rumi

Lose yourself,
Lose yourself in this love.
When you lose yourself in this love,
you will find everything.
Lose yourself,
Lose yourself.
Do not fear this loss,
For you will rise from the earth
and embrace the endless heavens.
Lose yourself,
Lose yourself.
Escape from this earthly form,
For this body is a chain
and you are its prisoner.
Smash through the prison wall
and walk outside with the kings and princes.
Lose yourself,
Lose yourself at the foot of the Holy One.
When you lose yourself
before the Holy
you will become the holy.
Lose yourself,
Lose yourself.
Escape from the black cloud
that surrounds you.
Then you will see your own light
as radiant as the full moon.
Now enter that silence.
This is the surest way
to lose yourself. . . .
What is your life about, anyway?—
Nothing but a struggle to be someone,
Nothing but a running from your own silence.