By Silvia Holgado (Consecrated Woman of Regnum Christi)
October 6th 2024 - Notre Dame of Jerusalem Center
October 1st, evening. The community of the faithful at Notre Dame Center gathered to begin Mass, as we do every day, at 6:30 p.m. We listened to the reading from Isaiah: “Rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad because of her (...) I will make peace flow to her like a river.” Exactly one hour later, those of us still in Notre Dame heard the anti-missile sirens and hurried to the shelters in the building (although there are always some curious people who prefer to follow the events "live").
Contradiction? Yes. So often, the will of God and the will of men contradict each other. But I can't stop thinking that this reading was precisely prepared for the Mass that day “from all eternity.” It’s no coincidence. God does not remain silent, inactive, or alien to our reality. And the phrase continues: “Be glad because of her, all you who love her.”
Love Jerusalem. Each of us would have a unique reflection on this. Don't worry, I'm not going to dive into a long discourse about what it means to love this city. However, the meaning of the word, in its Hebrew roots, comes to mind again and again: "ieru" to flow like rivers, to point in a direction, and "shalom" to peace and prosperity (the two always go together). A river of peace that never stops flowing—some rivers are more overwhelming, torrential; others are slower, winding with their meanders, even with their "exasperating slowness," but they all flow toward their destination.
Yes, that afternoon we were heading toward the shelters because we are not naïve, but we had in our souls the promise of God: "I will make peace flow toward her like a river." May the peace that only God can give reach each of our hearts throughout the world: the suffering, the distressed, the depressed, the violent, the vengeful, the sad, the hopeful... Peace, Lord, from the city of peace, Jerusalem.
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