My shoulders ached as I gathered up the toys and books scattered across the living room floor. Knots had settled deep into my muscles, physical remnants of a stressful week.
A candle flickered on the mantle illuminating a statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus that once belonged to my great-grandmother and now rests atop the mantle above our fireplace.
I thought of the perfect sacrificial love of Christ.
This great love so powerful and eternal, that Blessed Fulton Sheen once said, “If you were the only person in the world who ever lived and sinned, He would have come down to earth, died and suffered just for you alone. That is how much He loves you” (source). I let those words settle into my weary bones.
My mind wandered to all the ways I was telling myself that I had failed this week. The moments unkind words had spilled from my lips. The moments I had lost patience. The moments I felt my prayers were lacking and dry.
Yet here I was, feeling this flood of grace because redemption is real. As it says in today’s Responsorial Psalm, “Here God lives among His people” (Psalm 84:3). When my soul yearns for Him and my heart cries out, He is here with me. He is here with you.
We stand upright and we raise our heads in triumph because our redemption is real.
God lives here as I trace a cross over my children’s foreheads and smile at them through tired eyes. God lives here as I say a quick prayer for a friend while nursing a hungry baby. God lives here as I stumble through the day and keep inviting Him into my brokenness. God lives here as I seek forgiveness, extend mercy, and rejoice over simple moments of extravagant grace lavished upon me by my Father.
He remains near, calling us closer, reminding us of the glory of the Kingdom that awaits.
Our redemption is real. // Leana BowlerClick to tweet
Pray the Our Father with this beloved pontiff today.
Leana Bowler is a wife and mother of five little ones. She is a Holy Rosary enthusiast with deep devotions to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Her love for the message of Divine Mercy led her to become a Marian Missionary of Divine Mercy. She enjoys the miracles of family life, strong coffee, and encountering others on this journey to sainthood. She was a contributing author to And Hay Became Holy and Made New: 52 Devotions for Catholic Women.
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