Like a net cast into the sea to gather fish (Matthew 13:47-53), God has drawn us together as His people. Though our praises add nothing to His greatness, God’s joy is complete when we listen to Him and follow His commands. This result is precisely how God expressed His joy when Moses obeyed Him, as recorded in Exodus 40:16-21, 34-38. In that passage, God made His dwelling among the people, leading them by a cloud during the day and by fire in the cloud at night.
Just as God formed a people for Himself, St. Ignatius of Loyola, a Spanish priest and theologian, responded to God’s call by founding the Society of Jesus with six companions in Paris in 1541. Today, we are blessed to have members of that congregation here in San Diego, some serving at our parish, and one even leading our school as principal. Their presence is a visible sign of God’s ongoing work and a reminder of the enduring fruits of faithful obedience.
Indeed, how lovely God’s dwelling place is; our hearts and flesh cry out for the living God. We rejoice in His nearness, cherish His presence, and lift our hearts in prayer, trusting that He hears and answers us with love.