Psalm 62: “In you alone is my soul at rest. My help comes from You.”

Things like sleep shouldn't prevent us from seeing -- at least once in a while -- a clear, starry sky either at night or early in the morning. That sight cannot be replaced by anything we might read or, even less, see on TV. To let ourselves get lost in wonder at the vastness of the universe, the incredible number of stars, the distances, is both humbling and expansive.

Can't we draw, depending on the occasion, some conclusions from this? For instance, that some of my concerns and problems are pretty silly, really not worth my whining or worry. Or, the sight can suggest the immensity of God that in turn points to God's capacity to still handle our difficulties and problems, to bring order and beauty out of our lives.

Some, of course, will be tempted to think that a God of such vastness cannot really be concerned about me, my sorrows, my worries. But Christ has to come into any Christian view of the universe, and the existence of the Son of God in human flesh tells us that God does care, is not so crippled by staggering concerns that we and our problems are beneath God's concern. 

Psalm 147 has these verses one after the other:

     "God heals the broken-hearted,

     and binds up all their wounds.

     God fixes the number of the stars;

     and calls each one by its name."

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!”

Reply to Fr. Don at: DTalafous@csbsju.edu

Watch Daily Mass online at: SaintJohnsAbbey.org/live

Send your prayer requests to the monks