“My soul is thirsting for you,
O Lord my God.”
This prayer of longing was written
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
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 thirsted 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.
1. Our psalmist seeks the Lord because his soul thirsts for Him.
Give an example of a time when you have thirsted 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.
I suppose any time that I am unsure of next steps to take in my life, or an examination of failed steps, could be considered a time of thirsting for God.
ReplyDeleteFor example, this very week's lesson on readiness and being vigilant before Christ's coming, is unsettling for me. I do my best to maintain a clean heart before the Lord; I regularly participate in the Sacraments, I enjoy daily prayer, I do my best to live like Jesus, and so on. I seek wisdom and can feel when I am walking in it. On the other hand, one tiny moment of a misstep, and I could be lumped with one of the 5 unprepared, foolish maidens.
Questions like "How have I spent my time this past week?" Or "Where am I storing my treasure?" Plague me.
In the run-up to Christmas, I have spent hours online, doing "market research"-- a euphemism for buying gifts, half of which I end up using for myself, not others. I tell myself I am getting good deals, before things sell out. My priorities are turned upside down by my greed for things sparkly.
I have wisdom to know these things don't satisfy, but I indulge in them anyway.
Another area of upside down priorities is (not) blessing my enemies. I can forgive and work on forgetting. But out of the blue, a memory is triggered and I find myself calling down God's punishment on someone who has offended my family or me. Where is the wisdom or Godly joy there?
Our Psalmist David says, "Because your merciful love is better than life, my lips will praise you..." What a perfect example of how to quench spiritual thirst. Gratitude. Praise. A joyful noise. These are much better tools in drinking living water and learning to detach from what only makes me thirstier.