Homily for 1 July 2016

1 July 2016

The psalms are some of the hardest prayers to pray.  And that’s because they make us say things which are sometimes not entirely true.

Now, what did we hear today—“With all my heart I seek you; my soul is consumed with longing for your ordinances at all times; the way of truth I have chosen; I gasp with open mouth in my yearning for your commands.”  That’s hard to say to God, because it’s not entirely true.  Do we really seek the Lord with all our heart?  Is our soul consumed with longing for God’s law?  Have we really chosen the way of truth?  For most of us, the answer is probably: No.

And that’s not to say we don’t seek the Lord, and that we don’t want to follow God’s commandments.  It’s not to say we chose the way of deceit.  But we have to admit that we can do more; we can be more faithful; we can desire God and his ways more deeply.  We all have room to grow in our fidelity to God and in our love for him.

And so, while the psalms are some of the hardest prayers to pray—because they make us say things which aren’t necessarily true, the psalms are also some of the most powerful prayers we have.  And that’s because they show us who we can be.  They remind us of our potential as sons and daughters of God. 

We may not seek the Lord with all our heart—but the potential is in us.  Our souls might not be consumed with longing for God’s law—but the potential is there.  We may not choose the way of truth all the time—but who says we can’t change that.

Through these psalms, God gives us a beautiful vision of who we can be.  And so, let’s never settle for mediocrity in our life as Catholic Christians.  Instead, let’s trust that God is right; we can always be more fully what we are: sons and daughters of God, disciples of Jesus Christ, and a people who can say: “With all my heart I seek you, Lord.”  With all my heart, I seek you, Lord.