In St. Jerome's translation of the Sacred Scriptures, in Chapter 49, Verse 1 of the Book of Isaiah, the Prophet tells us, "Dominus ab utero vocabit me de ventre matris meae recordatus est nomini mei," which can be loosely translated as "The Lord, from my time in my mother's womb, has spoken to me, and called me by name".
My friend, dear reader, whatever religion you practice, even if none at all, I want to assure you that Jesus Christ loves you with a love that it is beyond any man or woman's ability to understand! The joy that filled God's Heart when he created Isaiah in the womb, and watched over the baby until he was delivered and came out into the wider world, is the same joy that God felt during the time when you and I were tiny fetuses. God created us out of nothing: at one point we were not, but then, through the power of God, we were! From the moment that a tiny egg deep inside our mothers' bodies was fertilized by an even tinier sperm from our fathers, a new life came into the world, with a soul and a personhood that had never existed before, and will never exist again! It is simply impossible for God to not love anything he has created; for he marvels even at the insignificant grains of sand that he has made by the millions of millions for the world's beaches. So who can even speak of the sheer delight that filled God's Heart at the moment you were created, and the moment I was created?
My friends, it is so easy in these times of such rampant rudeness and discourtesy for gay men and lesbians to doubt in themselves. Sadly, powerful voices in our governments, our cultures, our societies and even in our faith communities tell us that to be gay is evil, or wrong, or sick, or deficient. No matter how hard we seek to accept ourselves, we can be assured that there will always be people around us, possibly even quite close to us, who will not accept us, let alone love us. At times like this, how vital it is that we turn to God! How important it is for us, for our very survival, to believe that God loves us, and to know that we are precious in his sight!
My wish today, my dear ones, is that you will feel in a special way the love that God has for you. Think of all the love that has ever existed over the ages: the love of parents for their children, the passion of two people who are in love, the affection of a child for a beloved dog or cat, the strong bond of loyalty and mutual support between long-time friends... and yet if one were to add up all of this love and tenderness, it would not even begin to equal one-tenth of the love that God bears toward you!
The love of God, especially as that love is manifested through Jesus Christ, is the most powerful force in the universe! Nothing can resist God's love; in the end, all that opposes it will pass away. So few things are certain in this life, my friends: our time on earth rushes by in a series of changes that can be dizzying in their effect. But one thing, above all, is certain: each and every one of us is precious in God's eyes, and has been so from the moment we came into being in our mothers' wombs. Those in our society who would deny God's love for gay men and lesbians do not know the Living God: the cruel and vindictive deity they worship is an idol of their own making. The hatred and venom that they direct against gay people will in the long run leave us unaffected, but they will instead pollute their own wells and make themselves sick.
So today, friends, let us give thanks for the miraculous blessing of life itself! Each one of us is a precious creation of God that will never occur again. The universe was just fine without us, but for some reason, God decided to create us! May the same Loving Maker who gave us life give us the grace to truly love him as he deserves to be loved, the grace to love ourselves, and the grace to love all of our fellow humans, and indeed, all of this wonderful Creation!
Look in the mirror at some point today, dear friend, and realize that you are seeing a Child of God! You are looking at a person whom God adores, and in whom God takes delight! Give thanks to God, and reject all those lying voices that would deny you your rightful place as God's Beloved! Join with me, if you would, in praying, "Oh, my God, how much I love you! Oh my Jesus, be near me always! All you Blessed Angels and Saints, defend me this day, and every day!"
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