Wednesday, September 6 : Saint Eucherius
Might we not reasonably suggest that the desert is a limitless temple for our God? Because undoubtedly, someone living in silence is going to take pleasure in solitary places. It is there that he often makes himself known to his saints; it is under cover of the solitude that he condescends to encounter people. It was in the desert that Moses saw God, his face bathed in light… It was there that he was permitted to converse familiarly with the Lord; he exchanged speech with him; he conversed with the Lord of heaven just as people habitually converse with their fellows. It was there he received the staff that had power to work wonders and, after entering the desert as a shepherd of sheep, he left the desert as a shepherd of peoples (Ex 3; 33,11; 34). Similarly, when the people of God were to be set free from Egypt and delivered from their earthly works, did they not make their way into a place apart and take refuge in the solitudes? Yes indeed, it was in the desert that it was to draw near to this God who snatched them out of their bondage… And the Lord made himself the leader of his people, guiding them across the desert. Day and night along the way he set a pillar, a burning flame or a shining cloud, as a sign from heaven… Thus the children of Israel, while living in the solitudes of the desert, attained the vision of God’s throne and heard his voice… Must I add that they did not reach the land they desired until they had sojourned in the desert? That the people might one day enter into possession of a land where milk and honey flowed they had first to pass through dry and uncultivated places. It is always by means of camps in the desert that we make our way towards our true homeland. Let those who wish to see “the bounty of the Lord in the land of the living” (Ps 27[26],13) dwell in an uninhabitable land. Let those who would become citizens of heaven become guests of the desert.
Roman Catholic Ordinary Calendar – rosary,team