Fr. Don's Daily Reflection - May 4, 2021
Psalm 62: “In you alone is my soul at rest. My help comes from you.”
“I will bless the Lord at all times, his praise always on my lips” (Ps (33) 34:1). The devout couple who only recently came back from a pilgrimage only to discover that their twenty-year-old son had a malignant brain tumor could be excused for choosing another mantra. And the mother, the more vocal of the two, did ask why and express her impotent disappointment with God. Dad quietly sat alongside her, held her and tried to comfort her.
The Psalm goes on to say that the Lord sets us free from all our terrors, rescues the poor and the distressed. “Those who revere the Lord lack nothing, their appeals are heard. They are happy who seek refuge in him.” The couple mentioned above and their son can be forgiven for having trouble with these sentiments.
Most of us will in some way or on some day be in similar straits. How can or will we bless or praise the Lord at such times? Many of the Biblical writers before Christ expected that vindication and rescue would be sure here and now for those who trusted in God. We can share their joyful trust if we allow that our favorable response from the Lord might 1) come otherwise than we expect or 2) beyond this life.
The experience of the saints -- and among them are many of our family members and friends -- is the surest warranty we have for believing that trust in God is never misplaced. These are people who have learned by prolonged trust even amid terrors and trials that the Lord hears and cares. There must be some of us who can still praise while under persistent or chronic ailments. Still, possibly can we pray? - “I will bless the Lord at all times, his praise always on my lips.”
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!”
