Nehemiah 3:3-5 "And the sons of Hassenaah built the Fish Gate; they laid its beams and set its doors, its bolts, and its bars. And next to them Meremoth repaired. And next to them Meshullam ... repaired. And next to them Zadok ... repaired. And next to them the Tekoites repaired; but their nobles did not put their necks to the work of their Lord."

The city of Jerusalem is being rebuilt after the return from exile. Of great importance are her walls and gates, and here we read of the reconstruction and repair of the Fish Gate. The sons of Hassenaah are rebuilding, while others work on repair, all side by side, working together on this common goal. But the nobles aren't helping! They "did not put their necks to the work of their Lord."

I wonder what the nobles were doing as this work was going on all around them? How could they see the people pulling together in this shared task of rebuilding their holiest of cities and not want to help?! In any event, the people did not let the non-participation of the nobles stop them. They simply got to work, repairing and rebuilding their city and her walls.

When I read In Sinu Jesu several years ago, I was especially struck that Jesus said He was beginning the process of rebuilding His Church. His messages to this Benedictine monk spanned from 2008 through 2016, but I did not read them until 2018. When I did, everything made a little more sense. At the time, I was beginning to see the disarray around us, and was feeling pulled to do things that seemed almost counterintuitive. I was unsure of what I was being called to do, and to whom I should listen to in order to decide. I ended up finding Ignatian discernment to help me, but it was when I read this book that I thought "Yes, this is what's going on! The Church has fallen into great disrepair, and Jesus is beginning to rebuild it. He is calling on each of us to help, in our own way!"

Understanding that Jesus is rebuilding His Church has changed my entire outlook on life. I have been trying to always make myself available to God in any way He needs me in this massive task. There are many "nobles" within and without of the Church who do not yet see what's going on, or maybe even contributed to the disrepair. We can't let them worry or stop us. We just have to work side by side to rebuild our beloved Church. Eventually the nobles will come around, or at least get the benefit of the beautiful repaired Church Jesus is rebuilding with our help!