“The Lord builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the outcasts of Israel.” (Ps 146:2)
This verse of Psalm 146 can be applied not only to the historical and visible reality of the Holy City, but, as is proper to the Word of God, it can also be interpreted in a spiritual sense. Let us look at Jerusalem, our Father’s favorite city: how many times has it been destroyed in the course of history! After the Son of God came to it, wanting to gather His children under His wings (cf. Lk 13:34), but its inhabitants did not recognize the hour of grace (cf. Lk 19:44), they once again suffered destruction, annihilation, and exile. Even the temple was destroyed!
Now, let us compare Jerusalem, the city of the Lord, with the souls of men, in which the Father wants to build His temple. How often we destroy, through sin and alienation from God, the holy city that the Lord wants to build in us through grace! How often do we let the enemy enter the city? He comes to steal its treasures, capture its strength, and destroy the temple within! How often we ignore the inner warnings that the Lord addresses to us and we do not pay attention to them!
Yet, how often does our Heavenly Father rebuild our inner Jerusalem and rescue the soul from exile, destruction, the hunter’s net, and the deceptions that confuse it? He forgives our sins, which burden us and lead us away from Him. How often does He free us from idols?
With infinite effort, our Father wants us to understand that it is His love that “heals the brokenhearted, and binds up their wounds” (Ps 147:3). In the Message to Sister Eugenia, He declares His love to us again and again with how much tenderness and in how many ways, to melt the layer of ice that surrounds our heart!
No, our Father never gives up, even when we have already surrendered and given up on our inner Jerusalem, handing it over to our enemies. It is His holy city, where His Son gave His life for all people. Therefore, our Father will continue to cherish it with unwavering love until the exiles return to their eternal homeland.