Fr. Don's Daily Reflection - October 5, 2024
Psalm 62: “In you alone is my soul at rest. My help comes from You.”
Cancer, war, accidental death, addiction, abuse, all these are more likely to be our enemies than the external enemies mentioned in many of the Psalms. In our violent and gun-saturated nation nothing can be ruled out. When we first read the Psalmist, for example, in Psalm 142 (143), "Lord, listen to my prayer.... The enemy pursues my soul" we encounter this and often wonder how it could apply to us.
More frequently, our enemies are those listed in the first line and other internal ones like laziness, avarice, discouragement, illness, indifference. But the prayer of the Psalmist fits these beautifully, too. "The enemy has made me dwell in darkness ... my spirit fails; my heart is numb within me." How like the feelings of a person suddenly hit with a diagnosis of cancer or heart trouble.
Our difficulty leads us to share the Psalmist's sentiments: "I remember the days that are past." How good they were; how happy I was, how healthy. The twists and changes of life are so incomprehensible, so hard to figure out. Will I ever be able to laugh again?
"In the morning let me know your love for I put my trust in you." Make things different tomorrow – or soon. "Rescue me, Lord, from my enemies," from this disease, this crushing disappointment. "I have fled to you for refuge. For your name's sake, Lord, save my life; in your justice save my soul from distress.... In the morning let me know your love for I put my trust in you." Many of the Psalms help us express our needs and fears in surprisingly apt words.
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!”
