The days of Lent are numbered! Now especially is a good time to check up on your Lenten promise. Have you done well and kept it? When were the times that you slipped? Take a little time to reflect on it today. Today’s responsorial psalm, Psalm 23, is possibly the most well-known psalm, and possibly my favorite. In the following paragraph, I’ll break it apart for you so you can see each message our Lord presents to us in this psalm (the psalm will be bolded). I wanted to include the whole psalm because there are so many valuable messages and so much wonderful imagery in it.
“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” Here we see Jesus as our shepherd, our guide. We will not be lost with him. We also know that God fulfills us. God makes whole what was broken! We need not any more than His love and grace to fulfill all our wants and needs. “He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.” Here we know that Jesus is with us, and leads us to peace; peace in our souls, our lives, and in those around us. We also can be comforted knowing that He is constantly leading us on an ever ascending journey towards Heaven. “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” Amongst all of the evil in the world, Jesus is beside us. In all of our shadowy moments, thoughts, and days, Jesus is with us. There is nothing we should fear, yet rather, we should find comfort in all times. “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows. Surely goodness and loving kindness will follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” God is preparing for us! He has a place saved in Heaven for those that He loves (all of us, his children!). His loving mercy and kindness which surpass all human understanding are always with us and we are beyond filled with them. At the end of our days, we will be with God, and He with us.
So, for all of the days when you feel alone, for all of the days you feel there is no one there, Jesus is….always. Pax amicis in Christos!
-Eric C. Class of 2016
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