The wailing Wall
He
came closer to the city , and… wept over it, saying, ”If you only knew
today what is needed for peace!… The time will come when your enemies
will surround you… because you did not recognize the time when God came
to save you.” – Luke 19: 41-44
I
prayed to be assigned to the Philippine Embassy in Cairo, Egypt. One of
my soul dreams was to go on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. By land, you
can reach Israel from there in eight hours. In April 1995, I got
re-assigned from the Philippine Embassy in Abu Dhabi to this second
oldest civilization.
God
answered my prayer in the Holy Week of 1997. As soon as I crossed the
border to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv, I felt goosebumps on my skin. I felt
so blessed to be walking the paths that Christ Himself walked when He
came to save us. My tears came unbidden.
One of the places I visited was the Wailing Wall. It is there that letters from pilgrims are left in the crevices of the destroyed
walls asking for God’s replies to myriads of human concerns. It is also
a sacred place for our kindred Jews, a reminder to them of God’s
unbroken bond with the Jewish people in spite of the catastrophes which
had befallen them. God repeatedly comes to save us. If we would only
reach out to Him and listen to His guidance, we would be spared from
much of our weeping. Grace Princesa (grprincesa@yahoo.com)
22
REFLECTION:
God’s guidance often spares us from unnecessary tears and pain.
Lord, may I never miss the moments when You extend Your saving and loving hands in times of temptations and distress to keep us from crying.
St. Cecilia, virgin and martyr, pray for us.
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