Fr. Don's Daily Reflection - July 4, 2024
Psalm 62: “In you alone is my soul at rest. My help comes from you.”
Prayer need not always be for something. For those of us who cannot live without daily, even continual prayer, it's almost a bit of relief when a moment comes when no urgent need of family or friends drives us to pray. We remember then what we so easily forget: that prayer is also for praising, thanking, simply rejoicing in love and friends. We needn't worry that we'll never have another need to pray for; more will come. But in those rare moments when almost everything seems right with the world, at least in our little corner, why not enjoy our freedom from urgent needs and crises? It's a bit like those moments in the day when we can sit back and enjoy some music or watch the clouds go by, sip a drink or read poetry. Why not enter wholeheartedly into them without looking over our shoulder to see if some need or worry isn't gaining on us?
Prayer, too, though it might be made more pointed by crises, can continue in other times as well. We can thank God for the freedom and peace of the moment, for solving some of the problems we faced. We can praise God for the beauty that surrounds us: in nature or people or art and music. We can look back on all the good things that have come our way and rejoice in them and thank God. Our friends, for instance, the people who love us and show it, who add so much to life itself. Thanks, praise, rejoicing; no apologies needed.
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!”
