Daily Scripture Reflection & Prayer: August 29, 2023

Date in the Ordine: Memorial of the Passion of St. John the Baptist on Tuesday of the 21st Week in Ordinary Time

Scripture Text: Psalm 139:1-3, 4-6

R. You have searched me, and you know me, Lord. O LORD, you have probed me and you know me; you know when I sit and when I stand; you understand my thoughts from afar. My journeys and my rest you scrutinize, with all my ways you are familiar. R. You have searched me, and you know me, Lord. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know the whole of it. Behind me and before, you hem me in and rest your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; too lofty for me to attain. R. You have searched me, and you know me, Lord.

Breaking the text open – background and summary:

The responsorial psalm following the first reading calls us to articulate and acknowledge our personal LORD, one who knows us and is present to us.

How does this pertain to us today?

The answer is the same way it pertained to the psalmist. When one can articulate the power and presence of the LORD always and everywhere and yet intimate and personal, one realizes with wonder how we are known by the LORD.

Meditating on the text with personal questions:

Do I recognize the LORD’s power? Do I sense the LORD’s presence? Do I open myself to the LORD? Do I respond when the LORD’s hand rests upon me? How?

Praying:

LORD, Almighty Father, Beloved Son, Most Holy Spirit, You know us better than we know ourselves for You created us, You sacrificed yourself for our salvation, You fill us with your gifts for life in You. Help us to recognize your touch; grant that we may respond with loving acknowledgment when You rest your hand upon us. Guide our journeys home to You and life in abundance with You. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.