Reflections
Psalm 63: 2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9 (Read)
“My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.”
This prayer of longing was written at a time
when David was in the desert, a place where
physical thirst was all around him, and the
earth was parched, lifeless and without water.
But David is writing also about a spiritual thirst
that overwhelms him and reminds him of the
emptiness of life without God.
David meditates on those happier moments
when he was close to the Lord, when his soul
was satisfied as with the riches of a banquet,
and when he took shelter in the shadow of the
wings of God.
We too go through times of spiritual deprivation
when we are away from God and indulge in
sinful practices that separate us from Him.
At those times, like a penitent sinner, we experience
our deepest longing for the love of the Lord, and
we seek out His loving embrace. As our psalmist
says, at times like that our soul clings fast to the Lord.
We bless Him, we glorify Him, we praise Him.
Amen
Discussion Questions for Reflection
1. Our psalmist seeks the Lord because his soul thirsts for Him.
Give an example of a time when you have hungered for God's
presence and blessing in your life.
2. The Psalm speaks of gazing toward the Lord in the sanctuary.
Tell of a time when you have gazed at the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament
Chapel of your parish and how you could see His power and His glory.
Like the Psalmist David there was a time for me when I was desperately looking for the Lord's presence and experienced spiritual thirst that overwhelmed me. I realized that my life is not a life without God. I felt void and emptiness of life.
ReplyDeleteNo matter what I do and try to please myself, it does not work at all. Only God can fill me with His peace and joy. That's why St Augustine said, "You will be restless unless you rest on God." He is right.
I, a human being as a work of His hand, am to seek out His loving presence even though I indulge in sinful practices that separate me from Him. Why? Our soul can never be satisfied without Him.
My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God. That is my prayer, asking Him to come into my life to direct me along the right path.
The imagery used in this Psalm is powerful. "My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God." We can imagine David in the barren desert, utterly parched in his mouth, but also in his soul. Sometimes, our circumstances seem dire to us too, as if we've been plucked from our homes and thrown into a desert. We search and search for the way out, but end up further confused and lost. And very, very thirsty. In our desperation, the Lord provides. I must say it's not always cold, fresh water, but thirst-quenching, all the same.
ReplyDeleteMy 13-year-old son is enduring a rough patch with his social life; friends have turned on him and classmates have excluded him. I know the parents of some of these kids who are being less than nice. My first instinct is to put up a wall around my child and confront the other adults. Instead, I know enough to turn to the Word for direction. Would you believe what the Lord has shown me through some devotionals this week? "Practice Sonship, not sonship." It felt like a slap in the face to read these words. Had I made my child an idol? Did I think my son was special, worthy of more attention than others? It was certainly thought-provoking.
Then, one after another, the Lord's messages were coming through loud and clear: "Choose to Forgive... Only God has the power to change your feelings toward the person who hurt you." I began to understand that my son's trials were a way of bringing all of us closer to the Lord at the start of this school year. Then, God had to send me the challenge: "Pray for your enemies." Specifically, the message was: Invoke blessings upon and pray for the happiness of those who curse you, implore God's blessing (favor) upon those who abuse you (Luke 6:28). In my hurt and anger, these were the last words I felt like reading.
However, I have learned that obedience is most pleasing to the Lord, even when we don't feel like listening. So, my son and I are actually praying for his peers, that they be blessed, and that their hearts are touched. Nothing has dramatically changed yet, but we know His timing is perfect. As a family, we still have the pain of these wounds, the thirst that is still there. However, I know that our healing cup is being filled... even as I write this.