July 16, 2025 // Optional Memorial of Our Lady of Mount Carmel
Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s First Reading: Exodus 3:1-6, 9-12
Reflect on the Word //
The blue, metal doors of the orphanage opened for me and I walked over to the chapel that was bursting with songs of praise to the Lord. The children had left their sandals out in the corridor before entering the chapel for Adoration and so I bent over, unstrapped my sandals, and left them at the door too.
“Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground” (Exodus 3:5). Why must Moses remove his sandals? Why must he come before the presence of the Lord barefoot, laying aside something so seemingly insignificant and unassuming as sandals?
Intimacy. Here, in the closeness of the Lord to Moses’ whole being, the sandals act as an impediment to experiencing the fullness of the glory of that moment. As he stretched down to loosen his sandals and slip them off his feet, perhaps Moses had a moment to breathe and realize what was at hand—he was about to meet the living God. As he obeyed the command to remove his sandals, what else did Moses remove? Perhaps his expectations, his fear, his doubts, his shame. Leaving aside the sandals and walking forward toward the burning bush, Moses was able to enter into conversation with the Lord, “the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob” (Exodus 3:6).
As Moses listened to the Lord in this place of intimacy, he also received a call, a commissioning to go out to Pharaoh and plead for his people, to lead them into freedom. When you and I, sister, spend time in the innermost place of our hearts, where we have laid aside our own “sandals”—our expectations, fears, doubts, and shame—we find that we, too, are being sent out to the world, to the needy, to our own families and friends, to speak to them of the Love that has astounded us, that has amazed us because it burns but does not consume (see Exodus 3:3). May we take off our sandals and walk in greater intimacy with the Lord—let us, too, burn for Him.
Relate to the Lord // When was the last time you burned for the Lord? Ask Him to rekindle your love.
Rocio Hermes est une nounou à temps partiel née en République dominicaine et élevée aux États-Unis. Elle est enthousiaste à l'idée de bâtir une communauté, d'écrire de la poésie et de partager le message de la théologie du corps. Elle est titulaire d'une maîtrise en théologie et vit à Berlin avec son mari, où ils forment secrètement la meilleure équipe de pâtisseries de la ville. Elle est un auteur contributeur de Blessed Conversations: Dwell . Vous pouvez lire plus d'elle ici et penser à la vie avec elle ici .
Rocío Hermes es una niñera a tiempo parcial, nacida en la República Dominicana y criada en los Estados Unidos, a quien le entusiasma construir comunidad, escribir poesía y compartir el mensaje de la Teología del Cuerpo. Tiene un máster en Teología y vive en Berlín con su marido, donde juntos forman el mejor equipo de pasteleros de la ciudad. Es autora colaboradora de Blessed Conversations: Dwell.
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