Meditation: Luke 19:41-44
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The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Memorial)
Entrance Antiphon
Blessed are you, O Virgin Mary, who bore the Creator of all things.
You became the Mother of your Maker,
and you remain for ever Virgin.
Collect
As we venerate the glorious memory
of the most holy Virgin Mary,
grant, we pray, O Lord, through her intercession,
that we, too,...
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Daily Meditation: Luke 19:41-44
He saw the city and wept over it. (Luke 19:41)
As Jesus approaches the city of Jerusalem in anticipation of his passion, he has a surprising reaction. He looks at the city and weeps. His heart breaks because the people there do not recognize “what makes for peace” (Luke 19:42). It’s a supreme irony because the name Jerusalem actually means “City of Peace” in Hebrew!
So what were the people missing? They had failed to recognize the “time of [their] visitation” (Luke 19:44)—that long-awaited time when, in Christ, God would walk among his people. Their Messiah, their Prince of Peace, was in their midst, but they didn’t see him for who he is. He was ready to do for them all that had been prophesied: to forgive their sins, to reconcile them to God, to free them from the fear of death, and to offer them new life. And yet so many rejected him!
We, too, are living in the time of our visitation. Can we recognize Jesus? Can we see that he is offering us everything we need that “makes for peace” (Luke 19:42)? By his cross, he offers us a right relationship with God. Through his blood, he offers us forgiveness for our sins. And through his teachings, he offers us the way to live at peace with the people around us.
Sometimes we think peace means a life without bumps or bruises, but Jesus is offering us a different kind of peace. And so he asks us to surrender our own agendas and expectations. His peace comes as he assures us that he is with us every day and that we can trust in his good plans, even when we don’t understand them. He can set our hearts at rest so that we can bring his peace wherever we go.
So let’s accept Jesus, our Prince of Peace, today. Let’s ask him to open our eyes so that we can see him in our midst. And let’s join him in praying for those who have yet to recognize the time of their visitation. May they, too, come to know “what makes for peace”!
“Jesus, Lord and Prince of Peace, bring your peace into my life and, through me, into this world.”
Revelation 5:1-10
Psalm 149:1-6, 9
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