There is little comfort in Jerusalem. Our generation has witnessed great tragedies in the Holy Land. People live in terror. Holy sites have been destroyed. Suicide bombers have killed innocents. 

Efforts for peace rise and fall as the nations of the world seek a way for Jerusalem to find its peace. The city is important to many of the world’s believers. It deserves to be a place of peace, an example of righteousness, a beacon of justice for anyone who longs for these virtues.

When Isaiah first spoke his prophecy about Jerusalem, the city lay in ruins, ravaged by invaders, its citizens carried off into exile. He heard the voice of God promise a better future for the city: “I will spread prosperity over Jerusalem like a river. In Jerusalem you shall find your comfort.”

Those words still resonate deep within the hearts of all who hear them. We yearn to believe that God will bless Jerusalem with the peace and security promised so long ago.

When the day finally arrives, when all the worlds finds its comfort in Jerusalem, there will be great rejoicing. Until that day, we join in the mission of Christ by bringing comfort wherever we can to the nervous, the suffering, the lonely, the poor and the sorrowing - all those who need what the body of Christ was designed to offer: love.

Written by Paul Turner. Liturgy Training Publications
Copyright 2003, Archdiocese of Chicago