"The Lord speaks peace to His people," exclaimed the psalmist. This is a very consoling and hopeful message. The Lord constantly reaches out to His people. Prophet Amos affirmed His constant faithfulness. He penned this line: The Lord will "make good the gaps in our tottering hut and restore its ruins." We can take this promise of the Lord to heart - that He has better plans for us (you and I) and that He "will plant me and never be rooted up again out of the land." This message is the sacred affirmation I will remind myself of daily and come to serve the Lord more lovingly with gratitude.

In the Gospel, Jesus introduces us to a radically new way of seeing Him beyond our hopes and dreams. He draws us into a relationship with Him by giving us the image of Himself as the bridegroom and us as his bride. He draws us out of our mere blind following of rituals and customs into another level of intimacy. And in that, the Lord invites us to the peace He gives always. "Peace I leave with you, and my peace I give to you" (cf. John 14:27). Indeed He is the true Messiah bringing peace to us.