"A
clean heart create for me, God; renew within me a steadfast spirit. Do not
drive me from before your face, nor take from me your holy spirit. Restore to
me the gladness of your salvation; uphold me with a willing spirit."
(Psalm 51: 12 - 14)
The
above scripture is part of the Responsorial Psalm in the Liturgy of today, Ash
Wednesday. The Deacon who preached at
the early 6.30 am Mass in my parish touched on it in his homily. He advised the congregation to pray Psalm 51
everyday of this Lenten season. At the
end of his homily, he repeated the entire Psalm 51 slowly.
Earlier
this morning when I read the Mass readings for today as part of my preparation
for the Ash Wednesday liturgy, I was moved especially by the verses above. I told my RCIA class a couple of weeks ago
that every Christian should be armed with Psalm 51 ready to use it when the
unthinkable happens. The unthinkable is
falling into mortal sin especially the type you imagined you could never
do. If that happens and you are not
prepared, your situation could be similar to a man who fell into a deep river
and does not know how to swim. The
Liturgy of the Hours of today describes Lent as the beginning of our spiritual
warfare. How appropriate this
description is when we reflect on the Original Lent: Jesus Christ’s 40 days in the desert. During Lent, we find ourselves in the
spiritual desert. My most trying time in the entire year comes
either during Lent or immediately after Lent.
How well I handle the crisis depends on how prepared I am. How prepared I am depends on how well I use
all the tools of grace which Holy Mother Church has constantly provided her
children. These are the tools of prayer,
fasting and almsgiving.
As
we begin this holy and grace-filled season, I pray with David:
"A clean heart create for me,
God; renew within me a steadfast spirit. Do not drive me from before your face,
nor take from me your holy spirit. Restore to me the gladness of your
salvation; uphold me with a willing spirit." (Psalm 51: 12 - 14)
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