I will be brief this morning. I apologize for not posting everyday as I have in the past, but it is for reasons of health that this now happens. I wasn’t getting much sleep in the recent past and now try to get a minimum of 6-1/2 hours each night. Some nights I get more, but with only so much time in a day, somethings have to give a little. I hope you all understand.
I have come to believe we are given a message everyday of our lives through our readings at Mass. I believe this is why Mother Church finds it so important to celebrate Mass throughout the day. It was once said with all the Masses that are said throughout the World in any given day, it is a continual praise of God each and everyday as it should be. Back to our message from today.
There is much turmoil going on not just in our town or our country but the entire world. I believe a lot of this comes from two things. A lack of self esteem and from governments/leaders who put down anyone in opposition to them. Many people just don’t see their true worth anymore in the world today. That is why I find today’s Psalm so empowering to each and every human who walks among us in our world.
Responsorial Psalm 139:1B-3, 13-14AB, 14C-15
R. (14) I praise you, for I am wonderfully made.
O LORD, you have probed me, you know me:
you know when I sit and when I stand;
you understand my thoughts from afar.
My journeys and my rest you scrutinize,
with all my ways you are familiar.
R. I praise you for I am wonderfully made.
Truly you have formed my inmost being;
you knit me in my mother’s womb.
I give you thanks that I am fearfully, wonderfully made;
wonderful are your works.
R. I praise you, for I am wonderfully made.
My soul also you knew full well;
nor was my frame unknown to you
When I was made in secret,
when I was fashioned in the depths of the earth.
R. I praise you, for I am wonderfully made.
Here is the Psalm in its entirety (along with its footnotes)…
1 For the leader. A psalm of David.
I
LORD, you have probed me, you know me:
2 you know when I sit and stand;*a
you understand my thoughts from afar.
3 You sift through my travels and my rest;
with all my ways you are familiar.
4 Even before a word is on my tongue,
LORD, you know it all.
5 Behind and before you encircle me
and rest your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
far too lofty for me to reach.b
7 Where can I go from your spirit?
From your presence, where can I flee?
8 If I ascend to the heavens, you are there;
if I lie down in Sheol, there you are.c
9 If I take the wings of dawn*
and dwell beyond the sea,*
10 Even there your hand guides me,
your right hand holds me fast.
11 If I say, “Surely darkness shall hide me,
and night shall be my light”*—
12 Darkness is not dark for you,
and night shines as the day.
Darkness and light are but one.d
II
13 You formed my inmost being;
you knit me in my mother’s womb.e
14 I praise you, because I am wonderfully made;
wonderful are your works!
My very self you know.
15 My bones are not hidden from you,
When I was being made in secret,
fashioned in the depths of the earth.*
16 Your eyes saw me unformed;
in your book all are written down;f
my days were shaped, before one came to be.
III
17 How precious to me are your designs, O God;
how vast the sum of them!
18 Were I to count them, they would outnumber the sands;
when I complete them, still you are with me.g
19 When you would destroy the wicked, O God,
the bloodthirsty depart from me!h
20 Your foes who conspire a plot against you
are exalted in vain.
IV
21 Do I not hate, LORD, those who hate you?
Those who rise against you, do I not loathe?i
22 With fierce hatred I hate them,
enemies I count as my own.
23 Probe me, God, know my heart;
try me, know my thoughts.j
24 See if there is a wicked path in me;
lead me along an ancient path.*
* [Psalm 139] A hymnic meditation on God’s omnipresence and omniscience. The psalmist is keenly aware of God’s all-knowing gaze (Ps 139:1–6), of God’s presence in every part of the universe (Ps 139:7–12), and of God’s control over the psalmist’s very self (Ps 139:13–16). Summing up Ps 139:1–16, 17–18 express wonder. There is only one place hostile to God’s rule—wicked people. The psalmist prays to be removed from their company (Ps 139:19–24).
* [139:2] When I sit and stand: in all my physical movement.
* [139:9] Take the wings of dawn: go to the extremities of the east. Beyond the sea: uttermost bounds of the west; the sea is the Mediterranean.
* [139:11] Night shall be my light: night to me is what day is to others.
* [139:15] The depths of the earth: figurative language for the womb, stressing the hidden and mysterious operations that occur there.
* [139:24] Lead me along an ancient path: the manner of living of our ancestors, who were faithful to God’s will, cf. Jer 6:16.
a. [139:2] 2 Kgs 19:27; Jb 12:3.
Do something great for our Lord today – know that you are wonderfully made; we are all wonderfully made – in the image and likeness of God Himself. So chose righteousness, devotion, faith, love, patience and kindness. Hey, that sounds awfully familiar. As my dear friend Kennedy would say – be a child of God.
God’s will, not mine, be done.
Be not afraid; just have faith.
Jesus, I trust in You.
He must increase; I must decrease.
Lord, if You wish, You can make me clean.
But you man of God chose righteousness, devotion, faith, love, patience and gentleness. Compete well for the faith.
Eternal God, in Whom mercy is endless and the treasury of compassion – inexhaustible, look kindly upon us and increase Your mercy in us so that in difficult moments we may not despair nor become despondent but with great confidence, submit ourselves to Your holy will which is Love and Mercy itself.
St. Mary Magdalen Men of God 