Thursday, April 17, 2008

He loves, He hopes, He waits. If He came down on our altars on certain days only, some sinner, on being moved to repentance, might have to look for Him, and not finding Him, might have to wait. Our Lord prefers to wait Himself for the sinner for years rather than keep him waiting one instant.

– St. Peter Julian Eymard

(Thanks to MyCatholic.com for the quote.)

1 comment:

sarah said...

Great quote.

I tend to look upon God's waiting for us to come to Him in repentance the way I wait for my child to come to me with her own apology for wrongdoing, rather than her just saying sorry because I demand it of her. I know it is more sincere when she has pondered it quietly in her heart and made the choice to apologise. With my parental authority I could easily make her say sorry, but that would not truly add to the development of her character. Nor would it prove to me that she really was sorry. I think it may be the same with God.

I am sure He must wait and hope and have enduring faith in us the same way I do for my daughter during the silence between the wrongdoing and the apology. Sometimes repentance comes within minutes, sometimes it takes a day or two. When you are waiting with faith and love, the duration is not so important.