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Psalm Reflection: The Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Cycle B

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Psalm Reflection: The Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Cycle B

“The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.” - Psalms 145

I do not like things to be messy.

I am scrupulously organized, sometimes neurotically so, because otherwise I cannot focus on anything else.

If I am honest, I think this was (and continues to be) the biggest personal struggle I have had in adjusting to being a parent. I can sacrifice, I can set aside my own needs for someone else, I can go without sleep, I can even deal with the wild emotions.

I struggle to handle the messes.

I even approach new situations with my children with a bunch of rules and guidelines that are fundamentally related to two things: keeping them safe, and avoiding them making a mess.

But kids are messy. They just are. No matter how hard I try (and believe me, I try), I will never be able to escape every mess. Messes are a part of life, and when they happen, I can either freak out and get frustrated, or I can recognize they will happen and simply clean it up.

It does not prevent me from continuing to provide and be there for my children. Babies are especially messy when they start eating baby food, but no matter how messy they get I will always feed them more of it, because that is what they need and a good father provides what His children need, no matter the cost.

God is not afraid of your mess.

God is not intimidated by your sin.

God knew you would need saving, so He died for your sins.

He does not yell at you for the mess, He cleans it up.

As the Psalmist reminds us this week, the Lord feeds us and He answers all of our needs, no matter how messy we make the situation. That is how much the Lord loves us.

Babies do not look at the messes they make and question if their parents still love them or if they will feed them another meal. 

Babies make messes. We sin. 

Why do we question whether God will forgive us or be there for us? 

Why do we believe the lie that we are somehow unworthy of His love, attention, and care?

It is time to get rid of the weight of what you are carrying that prevents you from allowing the Lord to love you, even in the messy corners of your heart. Whether you need to go to confession, forgive yourself, talk to a spiritual director, go to therapy, do some inner work of healing, do it. Do not put it off any longer, because you are simply holding yourself back from experiencing the fullness of the love the Lord has for you.

Check out the John Paul II Healing Center if you need a resource for more focused guidance and experiences focused on healing: https://jpiihealingcenter.org/ 

Whatever you do, do it today, and know that the Lord is ready to clean up the mess, and then keep on loving you and feeding you every day forward.

See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God. Yet so we are (1 John 3:1).

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 this Sunday, July 28th, 2024, which is the Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Cycle B: Psalms 145:10-11, 15-16, 17-18.

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