It’s not my usual practice to post on Sunday morning, but I’ve had an off couple of weeks and haven’t been able to post daily. I want everyone reading this today to contemplate all of our readings, but today’s Psalm stood out especially to me.
Responsorial Psalm PS 19:8, 10, 12-13, 14
R. (9a) The precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart.
The law of the LORD is perfect,
refreshing the soul;
the decree of the LORD is trustworthy,
giving wisdom to the simple.
R. The precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart.
The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever;
the ordinances of the LORD are true,
all of them just.
R. The precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart.
Though your servant is careful of them,
very diligent in keeping them,
yet who can detect failings?
Cleanse me from my unknown faults!
R. The precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart.
From wanton sin especially, restrain your servant;
let it not rule over me.
Then shall I be blameless and innocent
of serious sin.
R. The precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart.
The law of the LORD is perfect,
refreshing the soul;
the decree of the LORD is trustworthy,
giving wisdom to the simple.
R. The precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart.
The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever;
the ordinances of the LORD are true,
all of them just.
R. The precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart.
Though your servant is careful of them,
very diligent in keeping them,
yet who can detect failings?
Cleanse me from my unknown faults!
R. The precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart.
From wanton sin especially, restrain your servant;
let it not rule over me.
Then shall I be blameless and innocent
of serious sin.
R. The precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart.
These four simple verses from our 19th Psalm cry out obedience to the commandments handed down to us from God.
The Law of the Lord is PERFECT, refreshing the soul.
The ordinances of the LORD are true, all of them just.
Cleanse me from my unknown faults!
From wanton sin especially, restrain your servant;
let it not rule over me.
let it not rule over me.
This psalm does not stress to me a life of hardship and misery because I have to obey the commands of the Lord. They talk about a life of perfection, refreshment, true and justice. Not just for me, but for all. If I obey these commands, I am cleansed, I am restrained. These are not bad attributes but good.
I know I’ve spent time in past posts talking about the importance of the 10 Commandments, but until these are ingrained into everyone’s mind and are put into the practice of our everyday lives, they CAN NOT be stressed enough. So again, let’s do a simple of review of what I have tagged the 10 commitments…
1. You are the Lord, my God, I will love you with all my heart, all my mind, all my strength. I will place no false Gods before You.
2. I will not take the name of the Lord, my God, in vain.
3. I will always keep holy the Sabbath.
4. I will honor my mother and father.
5. I will not kill.
6. I will not commit adultery.
7. I will not steal.
8. I will not bear false witness against my neighbor.
9. I will not covet my neighbor’s wife.
10. I will not covet my neighbor’s house.
Understand these are a condensed version of what you will find in the Bible, but I believe they cover the full understanding of what our Lord expects from us. The first three teach of love of God and the next seven teach us love of neighbor. When I reflect on these, I changed the Thou Shalt Not to I Will Not for one simple reason. It came to me that when I professed them as Thou Shalt Not, I kept seeing my finger pointed at someone else but when I changed my reflection to I Will Not it placed the responsibility of these commandments squarely on my shoulders. For me, it was a profound realization that God asks this of me – they are my responsibility to follow them.
Do something great for our Lord today…reflect on the meaning of the 19th Psalm and make a personal commitment to the commandments.
God’s will, not mine, be done.
Be not afraid; just have faith.
Jesus, I trust in You.
St. Mary Magdalen Men of God 