“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” — Psalm 147:3

Recently, there was a repair fair in Echo Park where people brought broken or worn items to be fixed rather than thrown away. Volunteers with skills in sewing, jewelry-making, woodworking, and other trades gathered to help mend clothing, small appliances, electronics, and household goods.

The organizers explained on the radio that this initiative is part of the broader “Repair Cafés” movement, which has also held events in Glendale and Pasadena. Their goal is simple: to empower the community and remind us that we rely too heavily on material things and not enough on one another. Driven by consumerism, we are quick to replace what could easily be repaired. It is often faster to buy something new than to sit down and fix what we already have.

Repair requires presence. It requires time. It requires the humility to admit, “This is broken.”

That image made me reflect on how God treats us when we are broken.

God is revealed to us as the One who searches for the lost sheep and as the Physician who heals. He does not discard what is damaged. He restores what He has made.

God also allows others to help lift our broken souls, because healing is often communal. Just as at the repair fair, restoration happens through hands willing to serve, through patience, through shared effort.

If you ever feel cracked, worn, or weary, remember: you are not beyond repair. Bring the broken parts of your soul honestly before God. Allow Him to work through prayer, through the sacraments, and through the community He places around you.

The One who created you does not give up on you. He mends. He heals. He restores.

May God restore us and make us whole again.