Thursday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time
It is impossible to perfectly describe God. Our language is too limited. We developed our languages to describe ourselves, each other, and the things of the world, all imperfect things. But God is perfect. So all of our descriptions are only analogies to our limited, imperfect existence. God is loving, but not in the way that we are loving, because God’s love is a perfect love. All the same, we do our best to describe the One who created all things and who gives meaning to our existence.
Thus, when the prophet Hosea conveys God’s grief over the unfaithfulness of his people, he does so through the analogy of a parent whose child has run away from them. He expresses the care God has taken in raising us, his chosen people, which makes it even more painful when the child rejects the parent. However, since God is not vengeful and petty like us, he will not submit to an emotional response, refusing to react in anger and destroy his people. He is merciful – not like we are merciful, but with perfect mercy.
Reflection by Fr. Victor Schinstock, OSB
Posted in Articles for Ordinary Time, Daily Reflections