Hosea is one of my favorite books of the Bible.
For me, it functions as a real window into what dwells within the heart of God
and what swells forth from the heart of God. And what is that? God’s
faithfulness. God’s unfailing faithfulness in remaining near us and always
forgiving us. God’s yearning for us to return to Him. As Pope Francis so simply
and directly phrases it, “God never tires of forgiving us.” Never. And I would
even dare to say that God created us in order to forgive us. As St. Ambrose
writes: “I thank the Lord our God who created such a marvelous work in which to
find his rest. He created the heavens, and I do not read that he rested; he
created the earth, and I do not read that he rested; he created the sun, the
moon, the stars, and I do not read that even then he rested; but I read that he
created man and that at this point he rested, having a being whose sins he
could forgive.” (Heameron, IX 76) As
the Prophet Hosea puts it: “I will espouse you to me forever: I will espouse
you in right and in justice, in love and in mercy; I will espouse you in fidelity,
and you shall know the Lord.”
Photograph by Brother Brian. Reflection by Abbot Damian.
