Wednesday, April 10, 2024
Take refuge in God
An excerpt from Psalm 34:7-8
The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him and delivers them. O taste and see that the Lord is good; happy are those who take refuge in him.
Reflection from Alex Thomas, St. Gregory’s: All of us in our life at one time or another have felt vulnerable. Intrinsically, we seek support from a higher power during these times. I would conjecture that even though sometimes it does not seem apparent that we have been created by the Lord, our soul knows this intrinsic truth and turns to him from whom we came. I believe the recognition that God exists and that God flows universally into all human souls.
From John 14:21-23, we can understand that those who keep the Lord’s commandments are in the Lord and love the Lord. To take refuge in the Lord, therefore, is to live according to his teaching. To such, the Lord is always with them. To be with the Lord is to also be in communion with the blessedness, joy, and happiness that flow from him perpetually. The only spiritual fear such experience would be is in temptations – a fear of losing the Lord when compelled or persuaded to do things that are in opposition to his teaching.
All the Lord’s commandments relate to loving our neighbor –and doing good. According to the Lord’s words just quoted, people like this love God and God loves them. Love for God and love for our neighbor are connected in this way.
Photograph of Easter Vigil at St. Gregory’s, Deerfield.
ADDITIONAL READINGS:
For further study and prayer, the readings assigned for today are:
• Psalms 34:1–
• Acts 5:12–26
• John 3:16–21
MUSIC:
“Prayer”
music by Rene Clausen,
text by Mother Teresa
“Penetrate and possess
my whole being so utterly
that my life may be only a radiance
of yours.”
Tags: Easter to Pentecost 2024