Encouragement

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“How I wanted to hear his voice! I looked for him but couldn’t find him, I called to him, but heard no answer.” Song of Songs 5:6

Man’s ultimate desire on earth should be to seek the Lord continually on the map of life. Where can God be found? He can be found everywhere, in the sick, the suffering, the orphaned and principally in the hearts of men as the Kingdom of God resides within us.

Yet, though he can be easily found, it is we who take so long to seek him out. Sometimes even after finding him, we fail to recognize him. How do we seek him? Do we seek him wholeheartedly, joyfully, with longing or perhaps even with trepidation at times? Do we come looking for him with the surety of finding him, with the guarantee of being welcomed or do we have our reservations that we might be turned away?

We see in the Old testament that there were times when the people felt that God was hidden and immune to their cries; Psalm 22:1-2; “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish? My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, but I find no rest.”

The Three wise kings came seeking the Infant Child when they saw the star. They assumed that the king would be born in a palace and hence went straight to king Herod. The first question put to him was; "Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the East, and have come to worship him."
(Matthew 2:2) As we know, the star disappeared at the palace and it was only when they came out that the star re-appeared and guided them to the manger where Jesus lay.

On Easter Sunday, Mary Magdalene & the two other women came looking for Jesus at His burial tomb. Jesus, in the guise of a gardener questions them; “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! ”Luke 24:5-6

The Samaritan woman at the well also came to the well seeking the life giving waters and encounters Jesus himself there.
In all the three incidents we see that all those who came seeking Jesus found him by all means. Their search was never futile but fruitful. The one on whom they had placed their trust in rewarded their search. The best present that the Lord could give them was His very presence and He continues to do so until this very day.

Today, perhaps our hearts are still seeking for the ways of the old, the joys of earlier times, the bliss of known moments, the familiarity of emotions. Maybe our hearts are awaiting to behold the sign of the Star to lead us but though the star may be invisible at times, we can definitely perceive God visible in the path of our life leading us to Him. Our Lady too leads us to her son Jesus and this is the path from which we can never stray. Today we do not have to travel as far as the wise men did, or look for Him as the women did. He is a living God ever present amongst us and very much a part of our daily happenings.

The Year starts with a new wave and the ingredients that make a good year are plenty of grace and blessings furnished by the Lord, the wishes of others, love and a life of daily prayer. We should earnestly seek the Way of the Lord. Seek him every day of this year. If we resolve to stay on this path, our searching hearts will find that which can be found right within the heart itself. It is only when we lose ourselves in Him that we will find our own self. God is dwelling in our heart and He and I are one.

As we know, Love is just a word until someone arrives to give it meaning. When we find the Lord, we will discover that He came into the world not only to give love its right meaning but also to leave Love in our hearts, a shadow of His presence that merges with our own and when our shadow is immersed in His love, we no longer have to seek that which has been eternally found.


Maria Franco
 

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