LPC Meditations

Sharing the fruits of contemplation and study for the glory of God

Tag: Psalm commentary

  • Meditation on Psalm 113: Pleading for Help in Overcoming Weakness and Not Sinking

    This meditation is based on the Douay-Rheims Bible translation, accessible on the Classical Liberal Arts Academy‘s website.

    Note, the numbering system is slightly different than more modern translations like the NABRE. This chapter is split into two: ch. 113 pt.1, which is ch. 114 in the NABRE and ch. 113 pt.2 which is ch. 115 in the NABRE.

    “Not to us, O Lord, not to us; but to thy name give glory.” (ch. 113 pt.2 verse 1)

    There is no reason for you to help me, Lord, other than Your own glory. You created me for Your glory. You created my children for Your glory. You created us as a family to sacrifice to each other, forgive one another and in this way show Your presence in our souls–in our willingness to suffer patiently and endure one another’s faults.

    “He hath blessed all that fear the Lord, both little and great.” (c. 113 pt.2 verse 13)

    I am one of these little ones. I am unable to keep myself from sinning. The moment I take my eyes off of you and look down at my footsteps, to see where I should step and how, I immediately begin to waver. I have to quickly turn back to you to stabilize myself and get the courage to keep moving forward. I feel like St. Peter who only had the confidence to walk on the water without fear of sinking when He was looking at You, after being commanded to “come”. (Matthew 14:24-31)

    How many times have I failed You? How many times have I woken up, telling myself “Today! Today, I will not sin. Today, I will be patient, hold my tongue, and work joyfully without complaining.” Then at the end of the day, when I have failed my resolutions, I shamefully come back to You and ask for the strength to try again–to not allow the repeated failures to cause me to despair. Indeed, I would have given up long ago if it wasn’t You who commanded I come, I would have refused to approach You if You weren’t so merciful so as to bless even the little ones–those of us far from sainthood and full of failures in our resolutions to be better.

    “The dead shall not praise thee, O Lord: nor any of them that go down to hell. But we that live bless the Lord: from this time now and for ever.” (Ch. 13 pt. 2 verses 17-18)

    For Your glory, help me! I cannot fulfill my purpose in serving You and glorifying You for all eternity if I fall down into hell. So for Your cause, call me again today. In my moments of weakness, remind me You are there so I can regain my strength to keep walking in these unstable waters, where I feel as if at any moment my foot will sink in. Help me, as little as I am, so I can bless You through my actions and thoughts.

    Help me so I can serve my family today with unwavering calmness, with a permanent abandonment to Your will at every moment–never allowing myself to be carried off into anxious planning.

    Help me so I can forgive my children for their many faults, both little and big, and see my relationship to them through You, remembering that their little hearts are bound up in folly and will need help driving it away for years to come (Proverbs 22:15).

    Help me so I can embrace the humiliating fact of my weakness–the fact I will continue to suffer embarrassing temptations my whole life–so that I may not despair and may instead turn to You, crediting You for my ability to overcome. I want to say in those moments: “I am little, after all, this is normal. God will bless me because I fear Him.” On the other hand, when I feel puffed up in pride at my accomplishments, I want to turn around and say “Give glory not to me, Lord, not to me, but to You”.

    My God, please bless my desires from today and turn them into fruits that I can offer You all throughout the day. I cannot do this on my own, so please be my Help and come to save me.

    St. Dominic, pray for me. St. Catherine of Sienna, pray for me. Blessed Mother Mary pray for me. Amen.

  • Meditation on Psalm 112: Recognizing and Rejecting Sinful Thoughts

    This meditation is based on the Douay-Rheims Bible translation, accessible on the Classical Liberal Arts Academy‘s website. Note, the numbering system is slightly different than more modern translations like the NABRE.

    “112: 5 Who is as the Lord our God, who dwelleth on high:

    112:6. and looketh down on the low things in heaven and in earth?

    112:7. Raising up the needy from the earth, and lifting up the poor out of the dunghill:

    112:8. That he may place him with princes, with the princes of his people.”

    It seems that almost every moment I am fighting off some ugly temptation or imagination from my mind. I can see an advertisement, a person walking down the street, a post on social media–really anything that I set my eye on–and my first temptation is one of scoffing, judgement, or ridicule. I feel like I’m waving off flies constantly, trying not to pay attention to these uncharitable or prideful thoughts. If I spend more than one second on these thoughts or indulge in them in any way, I am struck with shame at myself.

    “Why can’t I have better thoughts? Why can’t I think of God continuously and pray to Him always? Or pray to Him on behalf of others? Why do I, instead, get pleasure out of the base lifestyle of others–in the thought that I am better or holier than them? I should be sorrowful for them and the offense they bring God.”

    At the very least, I can take this humiliating fact of myself and offer that to God. I can recognize that I am an “unprofitable servant” and can barely escape the temptations that continuously swarm my mind. I can recognize that I am nowhere near the level of sanctity that I desire to be. I can take comfort in knowing that the disgust I feel towards these thoughts is a sign I reject them.

    Lord, see the miserable condition I am in and take pity. See that I do not consent to my temptations and that I immediately repent whenever I do. Please give me an overflowing love and tenderness for the souls I see, especially those that seem to be in sin. Give me empathy for them, so that I may pray for them earnestly and desire their salvation as much as You desire it. Lift my thoughts out of this earth–with its dunghills–and up towards higher, better things, so that as you look down on me, I may offer you only pleasing thoughts, words, and actions. Praise be to You for Your patience towards me. Amen.