psalm 84: to live in proximity to god's temple - 17th week thursday

To dwell in the house of the Lord is one of the constant yearnings of the psalmist.  To be in God's temple day and night, to work within its hallowed walls, to sleep and eat and work in close proximity to the place where God dwells.  The psalmist even envies the sparrow and the swallow which build their homes and raise their young in the beams and ceilings, in the nooks and corners, on the rooftops of the temple.  IT is a yearning to be always in close proximity with God.

I do not know if you are also happy with this thought of making your dwelling within God's temple, to be involved more closely in God's work, in the apostolate, to be in close proximity to the chapel, to be so involved in the activities that bring people closer to God.  I do not know if you are fulfilled and happy with these realities.  I remember when I was a seminarian I was more at home here than at home.  Here I have more opportunities in serving the mass, in visiting parishes, I have more opportunities talking to priests and knowing more closely their work.  Probably that was a sign of a vocation when I find more fulfillment doing God's work in the church than doing other things.

Of course there were discouragements along the way, there were difficulties and even boredom but my strength and enthusiasm would always be fired up when given the opportunity to do God's work in the parishes and in the apostolate.

The gospel reminds us of this kind of work in God's kingdom – fishing, bringing in the catch of men and women for God.  We pray that we will grow in our enthusiasm to do God's work, to build the kingdom, and to be so in love with God's temple.