Psalm Reflection: Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle C)

“Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.” - Psalm 66

Do you ever get frustrated that the good moments in life never seem to last as long as the difficult ones? It seems like the hard things of life—pain, suffering, grief, loss, anger, unforgiveness, trauma, anxiety, depression, restlessness—all seem to linger longer than the moments in life when we feel completely content or at peace? Do you feel that way? I know I have felt that way, especially over the past few weeks. But it got me thinking about why I experience things that way, and I was brought to the story of Adam & Eve. 

You see, Adam and Eve were completely set when they were created: life in the garden was perfect, they had everything they needed, they were in union with God, and there was no death, sin or suffering. Why did that have to end? Well, it didn’t. But because of free will they had a choice, to be obedient to the place God had placed them in life or not. They could not freely choose the love without free will, but that means they could also make the wrong choice. It is near the doorways of our choices where the Devil creeps, because he knows he cannot defeat God; he simply wants to take as many of us down with him as possible.

So when that light of love, unity, joy, peace and contentment shines brightly in our lives, the Devil sees it and wants to extinguish it as soon as possible. The Devil knows that the closer we are the the Lord, the brighter the light is and the further away we are from the destruction the Devil desires for us. Just as we groan at the blinding brightness of the sun after coming out of a dark room, the Devil groans in hatred and disgust to goodness and holiness in our lives, immediately reacting to extinguish our light as quickly as possible. 

When spiritual warfare and attack come our way it is easy to see the negative and long for better times. However, it is in these moments we should be reminded that the attack comes in the first place because the Devil is threatened by us: the attack is an affirmation that we were at one point on the right path, otherwise the Devil would have no need to try and throw us off. So in every situation, in both the good and the bad, the peaceful and the difficult, we can have joy because we are either content with God or we are being challenged because of the good that exists or existed in our lives. Let spiritual attack always be a reminder to stay rooted in the good that brought the attack about. 

The difficult moments will not go away in this life, they will likely be even more frequent for the faithful Christian. We cannot change that reality. However, we can change our response. So no matter the circumstances of our lives in this moment, let our response be one of joy. This week, lift up everything in your life that is hard, hurting, frustrating or that you wish was different, and ask yourself how it can point to something good for you to experience or be reminded of today. We are praying for you this week.

See you in the Eucharist.