THE HOUSE OF THE LORD

150th Meditation

“Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever” (Ps 23:6).

The psalmist expresses what the Heavenly Father has arranged for us, and which we can recognize by faith: it is the great “yes” of God to our existence; a “yes” that manifests itself to us in various ways. It is a “yes” that He never revokes, after having pronounced it once and forever on our life. Even the person who rejects God, testifies by their very existence to God’s “yes” to them.

What a joy for God and what a blessing for the whole of creation through which the children of God are manifested (cf. Rom 8:19)! In them the Father is glorified, for His children become witnesses not only of His existence, but also of the love with which He envelops them all the time. They bear witness that the goodness and mercy of God accompanies them all the days of their lives and that the Father has made them His dwelling place. It is not only they who can dwell in the house of the Lord, but God Himself dwells in them, making them temples of the Holy Spirit.

Here the deepest meaning of our existence is revealed. God wants to adorn us with His own holiness, so that His goodness flows into this world through our lives. His goodness and mercy, made present in our lives and in our intimate union with God, become a river of life that is to reach all those to whom we have been sent.

We glorify God and cooperate in the salvation of souls when we proclaim in word and deed His goodness and mercy toward all people. Indeed, all must become conscious of the love of our Heavenly Father, in order to be converted to Him and to come to the house of the Lord. If they put on the garment of grace and accept God’s invitation, a heavenly banquet awaits them there.