I am with you always

No prophet would think of being the spouse of God's people. Only God is the spouse of his people, just think of the book of the prophet Hosea, or the sayings of prophets such as Jeremiah and Ezekiel. This symbolism of God's marriage with his people is fully transferred to the Lord Jesus in the New Testament -starting from the joy of John the Baptist that he can call himself the friend of the groom, to the wedding of the Lamb with his Bride and Wife, which is said at the end of the Apocalypse. "Christ loved the Church, we read of Christ's marriage to his Church in the Letter to the Ephesians, and handed himself over for her, to sanctify her, cleansing her so that the Church may be glorious, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. (cf. Eph 5:25-27)

Great is the closeness and mutual love of this marriage of Christ the Lord with us, his Church. But today's Gospel is one of the few Gospel pages where the separation between spouses is rather emphasized. But first let us remember how much has been said about the closeness of the Lord Jesus to us: "Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age", the Lord Jesus promises his friends before his ascension. "Where two or three gather in my name, there I am among them." The Lord Jesus is so close to us (we begin every Mass with the words: "The Lord is with you!") that it is He Himself who baptizes our children, administers the sacrament of marriage, He Himself forgives our sins in the Sacrament of Penance, we even nourish ourselves with His Body in the sacrament of Holy Communion.

However, today's Gospel emphasizes that the Lord Jesus – so close to us – is far from us. Why your disciples do not fast? The Pharisees asked Him. He answered them, " As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast. But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast on that day. The Lord Jesus is far from us because we are not yet in heaven. We meet him in reality, but these are encounters in faith, not face to face. We have Him very close, but behind the cover of signs.

In yet another sense, the Lord Jesus is far from us. Namely, if we have distanced ourselves from Him with our sins. If we are so immersed in the things of this world that we do not even have time to think of eternal life, or even of being God's creatures. Well, such a distance from the Lord Jesus is very dangerous. God forbid it, but it really can come to the point where the Lord Jesus becomes a complete stranger to us .

Until next time

Fr. George

P.S. Today I am flying to Europe.

Please pray for my mission. I will return to our daily “meetings” as soon as possible.