Devotional Thought of the Day

³  He heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds. ⁴  He counts the stars and calls them all by name. ⁵  How great is our Lord! His power is absolute! His understanding is beyond comprehension!  Psalm 147:3-5 (NLT2)

²⁰  “You are saying some rather strange things, and we want to know what it’s all about.”Acts 17:20 (NLT2)

278 If we do not believe that God’s love is almighty, how can we believe that the Father could create us, the Son redeem us, and the Holy Spirit sanctify us?

It was a different time, for religious people were not just tolerated, they were treasured.  Not only the adherents and practitioners of this religion or that, but every god has his temple, every person had a choice between a thousand houses of worship.

Discussions of religion and philosophy were the entertainment of the day, religious freedom would bever be greater. And religion mattered in the life of people. It was a source of pride to know the various religions, how they worked, what they offered.

And yet, there was little satisfaction, for when they heard of a different religion being taught, a strange religion, they were intrigued. So they invited this former rabbi, who introduced them to a God who existed, whom they even dedicated a temple to, but could not communicate with if they also thought such was a possibility.

So how would they hear of a God who was active in the life of His people?  Who had been praised for that very thing, who heard the lament of those who lives were broken, even those who broke their own lives.  Some would turn away, that isn’t how God’s were supposed to work.  Some needed to hear more of this strange thing, a God who…loved? Some found Him, our watched Him revealed ni their midst.

And they found this God, greater than any tale of Zeus or Apollo, this God understood them, He understood them in ways beyond their comprehension. This was so strange in the midst of the Parthenon, it is just as odd today here in Los Angeles, or Boston, or Shenzhen or Rome or Manilla, or in places like Ossipee and Salem New Hampshire, or Lawrence, Massachusetts, He is there as well in Yucca Valley, and Anza and Cerritos, Ca.

There God almighty, creator of heaven and earth, redeemer of the nations, and the Lord who understands us enough to declare that we are not broken, but are His people.  He dwells with us, this God whom we can know, even know in a way far deeper, far more intimate than anything we could ever experience.

Yesh, this is strange. And wonderful. Unexpected and glorious, Beyond explanation, and yet needing to be shared.

So look for the people who need to know this strange thing, the existence of God who understands and loves you…

And rejoice in His loving, caring presence… for He is God, and you….you are His.

Catholic Church, Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd Ed. (Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1997), 73.