Today's Responsorial Psalm (Ps. 89)
Again let's reflect on the responsorial psalm. "For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord." Yesterday we considered praise and thanks. Today this psalm calls us to think about "for ever." Surely these two words will conjure up many thoughts among you, faithful readers.
But first consider the account of Sts. Paul and his companions who were in temple and were invited to speak "a word of exhortation" to the worshippers. This is where Paul truly steps into his preaching role. But, we might ask, "Where did he get all of this learning, this faith?" Let us make an assumption: Paul was impassioned with a love for Jesus Christ. "For ever" had begun in his life. No doubt he was on fire because he had managed to sped some time alone reflecting on the significance of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.
Each day there is so much that takes up our time. Abbot Christopher Jamison, OSB, speaks about the challenges that modern society bring to anyone who seeks to be alive with Christ. How can I be alert to the movements of the Holy Spirit in my heart when I am running from one thing to another? Well, perhaps one single question might initiate a marvelous retreat that leads me to a more conscious awareness of Christ present in my life, in my world each and every day. If I am not aware of his presence, the Psalmist's words, "For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord" will not mean much to me.
That one question is this: "Did Jesus Christ call you?" From the time of your conception, and even before that in God's mind, Jesus Christ wanted you to be one of his followers. But this is a question few of us consider. "Of course he did," you might reply. Then a second question: "How have you responded or acknowledged that call?"
Abbot Jamison puts a verse from St. Matthew's gospel to the soul searching an answer to the first question. "Anyone who find his life will lose it; anyone who loses his life for my sake will find it." Wow! Most of us today would probably respond with disbelief: "What does Jesus mean? In our world, our culture? Lose my life? What's God thinking? I'm no monk or nun?"
To be able to "sing the goodness of the Lord," a challenge that St. Augustine, when bishop, put before his priests. It is a challenge to all of us today. Surely we do not have to have a good voice! But we can sing the goodness of the Lord when we are genuinely aware of God's goodness to us. We will learn this if we take some time each day ... just a few minutes ... to recall how "good the good God" ( Bl. Julie Billiard, SNDdeN) is to us.
Each of us has to have a retreat house, a retreat spot, even if it is simply in the mind. For most of us it has to be a place that exists in a part of our daily work-a-day world. As one daily Mass attendee who has a very busy schedule at work and at home said, "coming to Mass each day just makes all that I do have so much meaning. I can have those very private moments listening to the Lord speak to me. It is a gold mine I do not want to lose."
Business has become an endemic in our lives. It is a disease we seem to accept as a fact of life. Yet, if a doctor told you that you had cancer, would you sit back and accept that verdict as a fact of life about which you could do nothing? Hardly!
So, let us "for ever sing the goodness of the Lord" by finding our own retreat place.
But first consider the account of Sts. Paul and his companions who were in temple and were invited to speak "a word of exhortation" to the worshippers. This is where Paul truly steps into his preaching role. But, we might ask, "Where did he get all of this learning, this faith?" Let us make an assumption: Paul was impassioned with a love for Jesus Christ. "For ever" had begun in his life. No doubt he was on fire because he had managed to sped some time alone reflecting on the significance of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.
Each day there is so much that takes up our time. Abbot Christopher Jamison, OSB, speaks about the challenges that modern society bring to anyone who seeks to be alive with Christ. How can I be alert to the movements of the Holy Spirit in my heart when I am running from one thing to another? Well, perhaps one single question might initiate a marvelous retreat that leads me to a more conscious awareness of Christ present in my life, in my world each and every day. If I am not aware of his presence, the Psalmist's words, "For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord" will not mean much to me.
That one question is this: "Did Jesus Christ call you?" From the time of your conception, and even before that in God's mind, Jesus Christ wanted you to be one of his followers. But this is a question few of us consider. "Of course he did," you might reply. Then a second question: "How have you responded or acknowledged that call?"
Abbot Jamison puts a verse from St. Matthew's gospel to the soul searching an answer to the first question. "Anyone who find his life will lose it; anyone who loses his life for my sake will find it." Wow! Most of us today would probably respond with disbelief: "What does Jesus mean? In our world, our culture? Lose my life? What's God thinking? I'm no monk or nun?"
To be able to "sing the goodness of the Lord," a challenge that St. Augustine, when bishop, put before his priests. It is a challenge to all of us today. Surely we do not have to have a good voice! But we can sing the goodness of the Lord when we are genuinely aware of God's goodness to us. We will learn this if we take some time each day ... just a few minutes ... to recall how "good the good God" ( Bl. Julie Billiard, SNDdeN) is to us.
Each of us has to have a retreat house, a retreat spot, even if it is simply in the mind. For most of us it has to be a place that exists in a part of our daily work-a-day world. As one daily Mass attendee who has a very busy schedule at work and at home said, "coming to Mass each day just makes all that I do have so much meaning. I can have those very private moments listening to the Lord speak to me. It is a gold mine I do not want to lose."
Business has become an endemic in our lives. It is a disease we seem to accept as a fact of life. Yet, if a doctor told you that you had cancer, would you sit back and accept that verdict as a fact of life about which you could do nothing? Hardly!
So, let us "for ever sing the goodness of the Lord" by finding our own retreat place.
