"rebuild my church now"
"...now has the time come to rebuild the house of the Lord." —Haggai 1:2
Jesus told St. Francis of Assisi to rebuild the Church, and He continues to command us to rebuild His Church. However, many of us make excuses and say: "Not now has the time come to rebuild the house of the Lord" (Hg 1:2). We have time to build and enjoy our "own paneled houses" while God's house, the Church, "lies in ruins" (Hg 1:4). We have grown accustomed to seeing the Church divided, barren, unholy, compromised with the world, ignorant, and confused. Jesus is giving us the grace to love the Church as He does, so that we will lay down our lives for her (Eph 5:25). He wants us to have such a zeal for God's house that we are consumed (Jn 2:17; Ps 69:10).
"Now thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways!" (Hg 1:5) "Build the house that I may take pleasure in it and receive My glory, says the Lord" (Hg 1:8). When you die, may the Church universally and locally be much holier, larger, stronger, and more united than now. Do whatever it takes to rebuild the Church.
Prayer: Lord, I put my life in Your hands (see Ps 31:6).
Promise: "The Lord loves His people, and He adorns the lowly with victory." —Ps 149:4
Praise: Harry went to Confession after an absence of many years. Then the Scriptures came alive for him. Now he teaches the Bible regularly to adults and youth.
Nihil Obstat: Reverend Robert L. Hagedorn, February 22, 1999
Imprimatur: †Most Reverend Carl K. Moeddel, Vicar General and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, February 24, 1999