Reflections from the Heart – December 22, 2024

Fourth Sunday of Advent
by Fr. Ivan Olmo

“Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.” The Lord God is the source and summit of our faith, the highlight of our day, the way to everlasting salvation. He is God, Creator of Heaven and Earth and all they contain. God is the essence of our breath, the blood that rushes through our veins, the spiritual food we consume, the remedy and medicine for all our sores, aches and pains. God created and made the heavens and the earth in his perfection, in his goodness, in his holiness, in his innocence and in his beautiful truth. He is the Maker who so wonderfully created and made all the stars and galaxies, the mountains, oceans and seas. The Maker of everything that lives, grows, swims, walks, jumps, eats and breathes. God who loved is love and continues to love in and through his wonderful special creation. He made them, human, male and female, his beloved children, wonderfully made in his likeness and in his own image to share forever, perpetually in his goodness and in the gracious goodness of his grace. God makes all things beautiful, holy and good once again. He makes all things new: restoring, renewing, recreating and sanctifying once again. We unfortunately uncreate, undo, shatter, break, destroy and unmake what God has so graciously built, made, created, united and called into existence and being. It is a sad thing to admit but the truth is that left to our own way and wills, we can make an ugly mess of God’s beautiful creation. We at times try to touch up what God created as if to make it better. We attempt to cover up God’s creation and believe we can make it better looking or perhaps greater or more perfect in some way. Thankfully God’s grace erases our mistakes and makes all things new again. We need God to make us good again, but not by force or against our will, but rather with the weakness and within the weakness of our imperfect decisions and wrongful willful intentions, by surrendering our will and returning once again to God. It is humbling to acknowledge that left to our own designs, we unfortunately cannot reach God or return to our true homeland in heaven. Our weakness turns to things that cause grief rather than God’s gaze that lifts us. If you feel you cannot return to God on your own or repent in anyway then it is time to say, “Lord, make me turn to you.”