Thus says the LORD:
In a time of favor I answer you,
on the day of salvation I help you;
and I have kept you and given you as a covenant to the people,
To restore the land
and allot the desolate heritages,
Saying to the prisoners: Come out!
To those in darkness: Show yourselves!
Along the ways they shall find pasture,
on every bare height shall their pastures be.
They shall not hunger or thirst,
nor shall the scorching wind or the sun strike them; But Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me;
my Lord has forgotten me.”
Can a mother forget her infant,
be without tenderness for the child of her womb?
I will never forget you.

Isaiah 49: 8-10, 14-15

Here are the complete readings for Wednesday, April 2, 2025.

(“Souls Rising to Paradise from The Last Judgment” Fresco by Michelangelo, Sistine Chapel)

“Hey! Where did you guys go?” There I was, 9 or 10 years old standing outside a gas station off Interstate 95 and who knows where. It was summertime and my parents and I were taking a road trip when we stopped for gas. I must have been staring at the candy counter longer than I should have, because when I went outside, my parents were nowhere to be found. I thought I stood there for an hour, but it was really about 30 seconds before I saw the car pull back up at the gas station. My emotions went from terror to anger to relief in an instant. I don’t remember what my dad said to me, but he made me laugh and pretty soon we were all back in the car and headed to our destination. My parents comforted and reassured me, and in truth I never really thought they would leave me behind. In the end, this became a funny story and one that we joked about afterward. However, when we think about our ordinary days, some of them quite long, when have we had those moments of acute abandonment, profound loneliness, or been made to feel like we don’t belong? Can we have the confidence and the hope that we have not been discarded? In the readings today, the prophet Isaiah reminds the forsaken that they have reason to hope, because the mystery that is God is by nature utterly personal and present to them. In the Christian tradition, there is a reason that the virtues of faith, hope, and love are called theological virtues. They have their origin from God and are a profound gift, a grace given freely. God does not have to come back to get us, because God never left.

Above all else remember
that your God is forever faithful.
In the words of the prophet God says:
Can a mother forget her infant
or be without tenderness
for the child of her womb?
I will never forget you.
I have branded you
on the palms of my hands.– The Fundamental Principles of the Xaverian Brothers

God, when the days seem drab and lonely, show me the brightness and beauty in this world which reflects your divine splendor. Thank you for the little treasures I find in nature and in the actions of strangers that can remove anything that blocks the path to joy. Thank you for the gift of each new day. Help me demonstrate how much I am loved so that others may feel loved and that they belong.

Amen