What does Peace Look Like? Two Signs and the Amazon Synod

Today's homily by Father Lobsinger takes a fresh look at the scripture passage in Zechariah 8:1-8. The background history is that the Jewish people had been in exile in Babylon for 70 years and in an amazing demonstration of God's providence, they were allowed (and even financially supported by their captor!) to go back to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. Now this new generation of Israelites were born and raised in captivity and didn't know what Jerusalem meant to them and not all the people are as enthusiastic about traveling so far to do what appeared to be an impossible job. But,
"Thus says the Lord of hosts: Even though it seems impossible to the remnant of this people in these days, should it also seem impossible to me, says the Lord of hosts?" (verse 6)

The Lord of hosts promised two signs:
"Thus says the Lord of hosts: Old men and old women shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each with staff in hand because of their great age." (verse 4)
"And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets." (verse 5)

and the Lord of hosts further promised:  "I will save my people from the east country and from the west country; and I will bring them to live in Jerusalem. They shall be my people and I will be their God, in faithfulness and in righteousness." (verses 7 & 8)

The promise of peace in the midst of turmoils and uncertainties is simply this:
"Thus says the Lord of hosts: I am jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I am jealous for her with great wrath. Thus says the Lord: I will return to Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem; Jerusalem shall be called the faithful city, and the mountain of the Lord of hosts shall be called the holy mountain." (verses 2&3)

Our God is a jealous God and He has promised to dwell in our midst!

The Message translation says it this way:
"A Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies:

“I am zealous for Zion—I care!
    I’m angry about Zion—I’m involved!”

“I’ve come back to Zion,
    I’ve moved back to Jerusalem.
Jerusalem’s new names will be Truth City,
    and Mountain of God-of-the-Angel-Armies,
    and Mount Holiness.”"

Today's message is a much needed message for me as I have been struggling with understanding God's purpose for the upcoming Amazon Synod. This article "Lay Faithful to Gather in Rome to Pray for the Church on Eve of Amazon Synod" described the grave concern for faithful Catholics. My wife and I have been praying the 54 day novena along with some 50,000 Catholics about this. These are the main prayer requests:

"We, a group of Catholic friends, both lay and consecrated, therefore want to pray — together with all those who wish to join us — as close as possible to the tomb of St. Peter, where the popes, with few exceptions, have always desired to reside. We are asking God for these graces:

1. that the sexual and financial scandals that disfigure the face of the Church stop, and that the clergy who are involved in these scandals not be promoted to leadership positions but, on the contrary, be removed and invited to repentance;
2. that the depositum fidei [deposit of faith] — of which no one in Christ’s Church, not even the Pope, is master —not be adulterated;
3. that religious families, bishops, priests, and professors who are faithful to Christ and the Church no longer be taken over [commissariati], persecuted, or dismissed without concrete and verified accusations, for the sole reason of their attachment to the “faith of all time”;
4. that the Church’s hierarchy be courageous in preaching the Gospel and hold up her saints as an example to the faithful —not those who have divided and lacerated the Church (like the monk Martin Luther, in times past), or those who fight against life on a daily basis by supporting abortion, free drugs, and euthanasia … (like Emma Bonino, in times present);
5. that the priority of those who lead the Church be to proclaim the faith in Jesus Christ the Savior, leaving to “Caesar what is Caesar’s,” and that they avoid acting like sociologists, political scientists, climatologists... and “logists” of every kind;
6. that the men of the Church cease not to proclaim the “non-negotiable principles,” in particular the defense of life and the family, and that they come to terms with the culture of death and gender ideology;
7. that love for Creation no longer be confused with pagan and pantheistic ecology, nor the “mercy” of God with moral relativism and religious indifferentism;
8. that we listen to the cry coming from the African church (“May the West not deceive our young people with false myths and false promises!”) and the churches of Eastern Europe which repeat, with John Paul II, that “one’s country is also a mother for each person, in a very true way” and that the “defense of one’s own identity” has nothing to do with nationalism or other aberrations;
9. that Chinese Catholics not be sacrificed to the Communist dictatorial regime in the name of impossible and unjust agreements, as Cardinal Zen Ze-kiun has repeatedly denounced;
10. that persecuted Christians throughout the world, who face torture and death for the sake of Christ, no longer hear from Rome that Allah and Jesus Christ are the “same God.”"