Serve the Lord with gladness;
come before him with joyful song.
Psalm 100:2
Anonymous asked:
Father, I have a question about the psalms. I've heard they're considered prayers par excellance for the whole Church, but how is it still valid to pray for certain things, like bloody vengeance? Eg, there's a line about hoping an oppressor's children are "dashed against the rocks." Jesus taught us to pray for forgiveness and mercy; how is this reconciled? Are we allowed to pray for the death of enemies? But we're not supposed to rejoice when even evildoers (even terrorists) die... I'm confused!
Good question! Here's my take on how to interpret them in this case. No, we're never allowed to pray for the deaths of our enemies. In fact, the very polar opposite: Matthew 5:44!
God bless you!
- Father Shane
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Hello father! Today as I was praying morning prayer, part of Psalm 5 (verses 5-6) confused me a bit. It says "You hate all who do evil: you destroy all who lie. The deceitful and bloodthirsty man the Lord detests." How is this so? The Lord loves all His people, correct? I've noticed a lot of themes like this is the Psalms, and I'm sure I'm missing the meaning behind it, because I know the bible is certainly not self-contradictory. Thank you so much, you are such a light in this world!
Yes, the Psalms are complicated! The whole Old Testament is sometimes, but it helps to keep in mind something the Catechism says:
"The economy of the Old Testament was deliberately so oriented that it should prepare for and declare in prophecy the coming of Christ, redeemer of all men." "Even though they contain matters imperfect and provisional," the books of the Old Testament bear witness to the whole divine pedagogy of God's saving love: these writings "are a storehouse of sublime teaching on God and of sound wisdom on human life, as well as a wonderful treasury of prayers; in them, too, the mystery of our salvation is present in a hidden way." (#122)
(You may also get a lot out of #2585-2589 on how the Psalms are a form of prayer.)
Essentially in this case it's the imperfect understanding that the psalmist has of God that is shining through. It's reinforced in an odd way in psalms in which we read the psalmist's bewilderment that wicked men are prospering. Only in Christ's teaching would the Chosen People finally find the full key to understanding this: That full justice isn't carried out in this life, and that this life is what God uses to draw us closer to himself and to invite us to repentance.
So yes, the Lord loves all his people. And yet, at the same time, at the Final Judgment he will have to condemn those who have freely chosen to follow paths of destruction rather than the paths of righteousness he offered to them. God hates the sin and loves the sinner, but sin when freely chosen leads the sinner to true destruction. So it's a case of the psalmist just not having the whole story in front of him.
Personally when I'm praying the Psalms in the Liturgy of the Hours, it helps me a lot to read things in a spiritual light. The psalmist's "enemies" are, for us, not the people we share this life with, but the true enemies of our soul: the devil, sin, etc. The psalmist's agony in times of distress or joy in moments of triumph may not be what I'm experiencing right now, but undoubtedly many Christians are, and I'm praying for the whole Church when I pray her liturgy. The psalmist's praise of the king is my praise of my King.
There is a very rich tradition of interpretation of the Psalms in the light of the Gospel, as well as a number of books dedicated to helping us pray the Psalms better.
And thank you... you too are a light in this world! God bless you.
- Father Shane
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Psalm 23 <3
Anonymous asked:
(Sorry if you receive this question twice, my computer crashed while I was sending it.)I am agnostic and feel drawn to the Catholic Church. I went to a service at my local church and some bits made me feel really connected to God but other bits were confusing and I was scared to speak to the priest at the end of the service. I haven't gone back as I am too nervous (I get anxious a lot) and I don't know where to go from here. Should I try and speak to the priest? I feel like a fake because I am not sure if God exists. Are there any prayers that will help me connect with/discover God?Thanks x
Well, thanks for opening up at least here this way... it's a first step.
Some ideas:
- Go at your own pace. If that means going back and being a fly on the wall for a while, even for quite a while, that's perfectly fine.
- It's totally normal to have questions. The strange thing would be if you didn't. No priest is going to look at you like you're weird because you have questions. :-) But wait until you feel comfortable to ask. Of course you know that this askbox is open (until it fills up again), so this is one place you can get answers easily (but not always promptly). :-(
- Don't worry about "feeling like a fake." Just be yourself. If you don't know whether God exists, that's fine...
- The Catholic liturgy is really complex. Everything is there for a reason, but those reasons are deep and historical and usually Biblical too. It's not something you can expect to figure out "on a first date." Some people take years to wrap their minds around everything, and I'll bet you could stump almost any Catholic around on at least one point of the Mass. :-) But the answers do exist, so feel free to ask around or poke around on the Internet.
- Prayers to connect with God? I would suggest maybe spending some time with the Bible. With an open mind and an open heart, asking God to speak to you through it. Now as we all know, it's a book (more like a library of books) written between 2000-3000 years ago in a culture that is very foreign to us, so you have to take that into consideration. Some of the Psalms (not all of them, for that very reason) are excellent, though. I'm thinking of Psalms 23, 51, 131, 139, 150... for starters. But really if you get the chance to sit down and read one of the Gospels either in part or straight through, it can be really helpful. Or some of the shorter letters of St. Paul, especially Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians... Try to let it wash over you and let God speak to you.
- Praying the "Our Father" slowly (you'll find it in Matthew 6:9-13) is also an excellent way to discover God's heart and how he wants to be spoken to.
- But don't expect "connecting" with God to be like some sort of emotional surge. Sometimes it happens, but "fireworks" aren't our usual "daily bread." Just expect some little seed of faith or seed of openness to be planted each time you pray. Ask for light and it will never be denied you.
- Every Catholic parish has a program set up for adults who are interested in getting instruction about the faith and perhaps eventually entering the Catholic Church, so there's always something that you can plug into when you feel ready.
I hope it helps! Like I said, those are just some random ideas. God bless you and count on my prayers.
- Father Shane