Advice, bible, Bible, Bible in a Year, Blog, catechesis, Catechism, Catechism in a Year, Catholic, Catholic Bible, Catholic blog, Catholic Catechism, Catholic Commentary, Christian, Christianity, Commentary, Cycle A, daily, Daily readings, discipleship, evangelization, formation, Homily, How to read the Bible, Inspirational, lectio divina, Lent, Mass, ministry, Old Testament, Patreon, philosophy, Prayer, Psalm, psalm, Psalm reflection, Psalms, reading, readings, reflection, reflections, Religion, Responsorial Psalm, scripture, scriptures, Sunday, theology, TV, Verse of the Day, weeklyMANNA - Food For ThoughtCatholic, Jesus, Christ, faith, God, Church, Pope, rosary, Vatican, Christian, Roman, mary, ministry, advice, inspirational, Prayer, pray, religion, bible, religious, atheist, atheism, agnostic, agnosticism, theology, saints, holy, lifeteen, prolife, pro, life, teen, focus, podcast, usccb, net, ministries, manna, food, for, thought, mannaf4t, f4t, vlog, blog, youth, young, adult, OC, Orange, County, California, CA, socal, southern, patreon, come, Spirit, Matt, Matthew, Zemanek, Saint, Timothy, Mass, TV, weekly, psalm, psalms, reflection, reflections, Bible, scripture, responsorial, daily, reading, readings, response, verse of the day, verseoftheday, bibleinayear, bible in a year, psalm 23, psalm23, psalms23Comment

Psalm Reflection: The Fourth Sunday of Lent, “Laetare Sunday” - Cycle A

Advice, bible, Bible, Bible in a Year, Blog, catechesis, Catechism, Catechism in a Year, Catholic, Catholic Bible, Catholic blog, Catholic Catechism, Catholic Commentary, Christian, Christianity, Commentary, Cycle A, daily, Daily readings, discipleship, evangelization, formation, Homily, How to read the Bible, Inspirational, lectio divina, Lent, Mass, ministry, Old Testament, Patreon, philosophy, Prayer, Psalm, psalm, Psalm reflection, Psalms, reading, readings, reflection, reflections, Religion, Responsorial Psalm, scripture, scriptures, Sunday, theology, TV, Verse of the Day, weeklyMANNA - Food For ThoughtCatholic, Jesus, Christ, faith, God, Church, Pope, rosary, Vatican, Christian, Roman, mary, ministry, advice, inspirational, Prayer, pray, religion, bible, religious, atheist, atheism, agnostic, agnosticism, theology, saints, holy, lifeteen, prolife, pro, life, teen, focus, podcast, usccb, net, ministries, manna, food, for, thought, mannaf4t, f4t, vlog, blog, youth, young, adult, OC, Orange, County, California, CA, socal, southern, patreon, come, Spirit, Matt, Matthew, Zemanek, Saint, Timothy, Mass, TV, weekly, psalm, psalms, reflection, reflections, Bible, scripture, responsorial, daily, reading, readings, response, verse of the day, verseoftheday, bibleinayear, bible in a year, psalm 23, psalm23, psalms23Comment
Psalm Reflection: The Fourth Sunday of Lent, “Laetare Sunday” - Cycle A

“The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.” - Psalm 23

Eliminating all suffering.

Minimalism.

Mindfulness. 

Freedom from anxiety.

These principles may seem like secular trends and desires, but they are actually principles of Buddhism that have become part of popular culture. These come from the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism, which can be summarized in this way:

  1. All life is suffering

  2. Suffering comes from desire

  3. Eliminate all desire, and you will eliminate all suffering

  4. The way to do this is to follow the eightfold path of Buddhism

Unfortunately, these principles are fundamentally flawed and do not align with Christianity, or with our human experience. 

First, it is impossible to eliminate all desire. The desire to live, breathe, eat and drink is built into the survival instincts of the human brain. In a life-threatening situation, we will always instinctively react in the way we will will best ensure our survival and preserve our lives. If we try to hold our breath and go without oxygen, our body will actually force us to take a breathe whether we try to or not.

Second, beyond our basic animal biology is the theological truth that we were created very good (Genesis 1:31). “God did not make death, nor does he rejoice in the destruction of the living” (Wisdom 1:13). We know that God is perfect (Matthew 5:48), and He does not make mistakes. Suffering and sin do not come from God, nor were they meant to ever be part of our lives. 

When Adam and Eve committed the very first sin in the Garden of Eden, their desires were not inherently evil or bad, they were distortions of something good. Scripture says that “the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eyes, and the tree was desirable for gaining wisdom” (Genesis 3:6, emphasis added). In other words, their desire for the fruit of the tree was because they saw it was good, beautiful, and true. Those are things we all desire, but those desires had been distorted by a lack of trust in God, causing them to disobey His command. 

Their desires were good, but they fulfilled their desires in a distorted way. Sin and suffering do not come from desire, they come from us trying to fulfill our desires in ways God did not intend or create us for. 

Certain principles of Eastern spirituality can help us detach and let go of our desires for worldly things. However, we must acknowledge our God-given desire for love, belonging, truth, goodness, and beauty, and pursue them wholeheartedly to their natural end in God. Otherwise, we will never be truly happy and we will be denying something innate in us that cries out to God for fulfillment.

Although these semi-religious principles that become popular may seem harmless, they can lead us down an unfulfilling and even destructive direction. We need to be wary of popular and new age spiritualities, not only because they can be a foothold through which the Devil and His demons operate, but they can also lead to a distorted understanding of who we are and who God created us to be.

When the Psalmist says, “the Lord is my shepherd, there is nothing I shall want,” he is not advocating for a denial of our desires. This week’s Psalm invites us to trust and rely on God in such a way that all we want is Him. When we have that radical trust in God, He provides all that we need. 

This week, reflect on your desires:

Do you have a lot of wants?

How has God provided for you?

Do you trust that He will take care of you?

Does your pursuit of your own desires distract you or get in the way of your relationship with God?

What might you need to let go of, fast from, give up, or give away to have healthier desires that are rooted in the Lord?

Trust that our Lord is a good shepherd who knows how to take care of His sheep (John 10:13). Even if we run off, He will come after us, but we must follow Him in order to truly be fulfilled and free (Luke 15:4-7). 

I am praying for you, please pray for me, and I will see you in the Eucharist.

Matt

This reflection is based on the Responsorial Psalm for the Fourth Sunday of Lent, “Laetare Sunday” - Cycle A: Psalms 23: 1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6

MANNA is a ministry creating blogs and podcasts to encourage and inspire others to grow in relationship with Jesus Christ and live out their Catholic faith.