Scripture Reading(s)
Psalm 40:1-11
40:1 I waited patiently for the LORD; he inclined to me and heard my cry.
40:2 He drew me up from the desolate pit, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure.
40:3 He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the LORD.
40:4 Happy are those who make the LORD their trust, who do not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after false gods.
40:5 You have multiplied, O LORD my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you. Were I to proclaim and tell of them, they would be more than can be counted.
40:6 Sacrifice and offering you do not desire, but you have given me an open ear. Burnt offering and sin offering you have not required.
40:7 Then I said, “Here I am; in the scroll of the book it is written of me.
40:8 I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.”
40:9 I have told the glad news of deliverance in the great congregation; see, I have not restrained my lips, as you know, O LORD.
40:10 I have not hidden your saving help within my heart, I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation; I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness from the great congregation.
40:11 Do not, O LORD, withhold your mercy from me; let your steadfast love and your faithfulness keep me safe forever.
Reflections
Patience and waiting on God go hand in hand. When we present our requests to God and are waiting for Him to answer us, it takes great patience and faith to believe that He will answer us. However, at the end of our waiting, this Psalmist shows us the beauty of what happens when we wait patiently on God.
- He hears our cries (vs1): The Psalmist begins by stating that when he cried out God, He heard him. When we come before God with our struggles, worries and pain, He does hear us and He is always working behind the scenes to bring about good in any situation.
- He answers us (vs2-3): God answered the Psalmist by bringing him out of the dark situation he was facing and made his path clear and strong.
- He is the one and only true God of this world and our lives (vs4-5): When we place our faith in God alone and not in any other false idol of this world, we see just how powerful and full of truth God is. He does not require us to lay down sacrifices or burnt offerings. All he asks for is that our hearts come to Him with faith and trust.
- He changes our hearts(vs 7-10): When we fully surrender our lives to Christ, our desire to follow after Him increases and becomes something that we long and love to do. We then have the courage to spread that same good news to the rest of the world.
The Psalmist who wrote psalm 40 was in despair. These types of Psalms are often called lamentations. However, the reader should notice that in the middle of the lamentation the author (most likely David) was both praising the Lord and seeking the Lord’s will for himself and God’s people.
We too will have times where we are driven to despair. Some of us may already be there. But do not lose hope because God is with you and He has a plan. No one sees the end of the storm while they are in the middle of the storm. Be patient, seek the Lord, and praise the Lord. When you reach the other side you will be stronger, close to the the Lord, and have a deeper, richer faith.
[Featured image from http://quagmus.blogspot.com]
(Leo XIII, 18 May 1890, Acta Apostolicae Sedis, page 743)
O glorious prince of the heavenly militias, St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in the battle and in the terrible struggle that we must fight against the principalities and powers, against the princes of this world of darkness, against the evil spirits! Come to the aid of men whom God has created immortals, who formed in His image and likeness and who rescued at great price from the tyranny of the devil. Fight on this day, with the army of the holy angels, the fighting of the Lord as you once fought against Lucifer, the chief of the proud, and against the apostate angels who were powerless to resist you and for whom there was never ever place in heaven. If that monster, that ancient serpent called the devil and Satan, he who seduces the whole world, was precipitated with his angels to the bottom of the abyss.
But behold, this former enemy, this first murderer, has fiercely raised his head. Disguised as an angel of light and followed by all the mob and followed by evil spirits, he travels the whole world to seize him and banish the Name of God and his Christ, to sink, kill and deliver eternal destruction to the souls destined To the eternal crown of glory. On men of a wicked spirit and a corrupt heart, this evil dragon also spreads, like a torrent of impure mud, the poison of his infernal malice, that is, the spirit of lies, of impiety, of blasphemy, and of the poisoned breath of impudence, of The vices and all the abominations. Enemies full of cunning have filled with disgrace and bitterness to the Church, wife of the immaculate Lamb, and on their most sacred possessions have put their criminal hands. Even in this sacred place, where the See of Peter and the chair of Truth which should illuminate the world have been established, they have raised the abominable throne of their wickedness with the iniquitous design of injuring the Shepherd and dispersing the flock.
We beseech you, then, O invincible prince, against the attacks of these reprobate spirits, assist the people of God and give him the victory. This people revere you as their protector and their patron, and the Church boasts of having you as a defender against the evil powers of hell. God entrusted to you the care of leading souls to celestial bliss. Ah! Therefore pray to the God of peace to put under our feet Satan defeated and in such a dejected way that he can never again keep men in slavery nor cause harm to the Church. Present our prayers before the eyes of the Almighty, so that the mercies of the Lord reach us as soon as possible. Submit the dragon, the ancient serpent who is devil and Satan, chain it and precipitate it into the abyss, so that it can not seduce the peoples. Amen
– Behold the Cross of the Lord, flee enemy powers.
The Lion of Judah, the offspring of David, overcame
– May your mercies, O Lord, be done over us.
As we have expected of you.
“Lord, hear my prayer.
And let my cries rise to you.
O God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, we invoke your Holy Name, and we implore your mercy so that through the intercession of Mary immaculate always Virgin, our Mother, and of the glorious St. Michael the Archangel, may you help us against Satan and all other unclean spirits That travel the earth to harm the human race and lose souls. Amen