Fr. Don's Daily Reflection - November 30, 2020
Psalm 62: “In you alone is my soul at rest. My help comes from you.”
“He will raise you up on eagle's wings,
Bear you on the breath of dawn.”
We often hear this at funerals; we are praying that the deceased friend will now be freed from all that weighed him/her down. But instinctively we feel that our faith should refresh us even now, put a spring in our walk, free us a bit from the pull of gravity. Heaviness, dragging along as if we were carrying all the world's burdens on our backs -- all this strikes us as not the way it should be.
Shouldn't we feel a youthful urge to run, buoyed by the strength of God? The Lord says his yoke is easy and his burden light (Matt 11:28-30). Shouldn't we at times feel able to “soar with eagles' wings”? “They that hope in the Lord will renew their strength” (Isaiah 40:30).
Some of the saints demonstrate that God's grace, closeness to God, can be a greater motivator than a dozen motivational speakers. Perhaps more reflection, more hope and expectation would make the strength of the Lord flow over into our daily life. We all feel drained at times, maybe continually so, but is there anything wrong with asking the Lord to give us some of that refreshment he has promised? “My yoke is easy and my burden light.”
The Lord whose coming we prepare for in the approaching season of Advent is already present and with us, the more so as we trust. In the word of the Lord, in the bread and wine of the altar, the Lord's power, love and strength are present to put life into our plodding legs, to inspire more smiles, to restore some youth.
Psalm 27: “I believe I shall see the Lord’s goodness / in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord; be strong; / be stouthearted, and wait for the Lord!”
