Some of my earliest childhood memories are of being with my cousins in Zacatecas. Sunday gatherings were something I always looked forward to. My mom and aunts would meet at my grandparents’ house, and for me, that meant seeing and playing with my cousins.
Later, our little family moved several times because of my dad’s job. Although I was too young to understand the necessary moves, I missed being with my cousins a lot.
A few years later, when I was about twelve years old, I spent an entire summer vacation with my grandma. That meant I was also going to have a lot of time with my cousins.
As I prepared to spend more than a month with my grandma, I had a feeling of coming home. Zacatecas was such a familiar place for me, a place where I felt very free, very much at home. It wasn’t that I felt uncomfortable or restricted in the other cities where my parents, my brother, and I lived, but rather that the place felt much more familiar.
And you, have you ever found a place where you feel completely welcomed and accepted?
In Scripture, the psalmist shares his immense joy in knowing he is going to the house of the Lord, and describes a place of unity, encounter, and gathering.
For you, what is that place where you rejoice knowing you are going, where you experience union and encounter with loved ones?
In Zacatecas, I experienced great joy with my cousins. And I also experienced it in a different way with my family. They were two different places, with different experiences. In both places, I was welcomed and embraced.
What is that place for you where your whole being rejoices to be? Can you (re)create that place within yourself?
If the Spirit leads you, share with Jesus the carpenter where that place is where you feel welcomed. And perhaps you will notice that Jesus receives and welcomes you in the same way. Being with Jesus, you are home.
Marisol
P.S.: We can hear about feeling at home in the Psalm for the first Sunday of Advent, year/cycle A.
