Suffering With Joy

Runways to God

May 28, 2010

Today is the Ember Friday after Pentecost.  As I sometimes do when I can’t get to Mass, I read the propers and then turn to Father Paschal Botz, O.S.B.’s book, Runways to God: The Psalms As Prayer(©1980) to understand the Introit psalm better.

Father Paschal was a monk of St. John’s Abbey in Collegeville, Minnesota who was heavily involved in the development of the Short Breviary (1962), and whose writings on the liturgy, scripture, and spiritual life are well known from the early liturgical movement in the United States (pre-Vatican II) before it went off the rails.  A dear Benedictine priest gave me this book and I treasure it as the best contemporary commentary on the Psalms I have seen.

Today’s Introit is from Psalm 70 (71), verses 8, 23, 1, 2.  In the Traditional Mass verses and texts were often rearranged for emphasis on the theme of the feast or liturgical season, often with alleluias inserted.  It reads:

Let my mouth be filled with Thy praise, alleluia, that I may sing, alleluia; my lips shall rejoice when I shall sing to Thee, alleluia, alleluia.  In Thee, O Lord, have I hoped, let me never be put to confusion: deliver me in Thy justice, and rescue me.  Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.  Let my mouth…

You might remember the “let me never be put to confusion” from the last line of the great early Christian poem, the Te Deum Laudamus which the Church sings today at major celebrations and on Sundays in the Divine Office. Father Paschal’s commentary on the entire Psalm could not be more relevant for the pro-life issues the sick and elderly face today. Here are some excerpts:

Rock of the Aged

Many a phrase in this Psalm is known to us from other Psalms.  That is as we expect from an elderly author who lived all his life in fidelity to the Lord.  Sheer, unbounded praise alternates with acts of trust, even as the Psalmist repeatedly begs for divine help more insistently with the advancing years. God is his Rock of refuge and strong fortress from the womb to the tomb.  His venerable gray hair, however is also the occasion for new trials, recriminations of accusers, and there is no lack of enemies, those who watch to take advantage of him.  Old age is not serene and quiet, respected for wisdom of experience, but its spent strength changes over to new anxieties.

There are those who pounce on the aged and take advantage of their weakness.  The shadows lengthen with the years, as “many sore troubles” crop up, not least of all from oppressors of the elderly, even the criminally violent.  We think here of the “mercy killers” for whom life is cheap, “cruel men” without humane feelings. While the life span of men and women is growing, so are the enemies who consider advanced age useless.  This is the meaning of verse 7: “I have been as a portent to many,” a sign of evil and an easy target.  Failing health is a sign of age, but the author’s faith grows the stronger.

Hope and trust are the music of the years.  Total dependence on God is the childlikeness of the Gospel.  Trust and confidence is the greatest heritage that old people can pass on to the young. To proclaim God’s deeds, His might and victories to the young is the glory and dignity and sanctity of declining years. The simple fact that God takes good care of those who live by faith is enough.  This is music to the young generation.  The Psalmist speaks of the harp and the lyre, with which the elderly count their blessings “without number” (v. 15).  God is always near and brings new comfort.

We are grateful for this inspired hymn of praise in Israel’s repertoire of prayer, as it rejuvenates old age. Just as the coming of the infant Jesus fulfilled all the hopes of Simeon and Anna (Lk. 2: 22ff., 36ff.), so He does in the Holy Anointing not only of the sick but also of the aged.  He takes over their suffering, their whole lives.  Older people could spend much more time singing the praises of the Lord, cultivating the memory of God in devout recollection. They could be renewed in their comeback from the depths (v.20) and rise above their enemies, they could experience a blessedness that exceeds their wildest dreams of health and strength and security.  Such is the foretaste of the resurrection, for “all generations to come.”

Considering Father Paschal’s comments, good questions to ask are, do I do enough to proclaim God’s might and victories to the young?  Am I setting a good example of faith and trust in God? Do I speak of the blessings God has given me rather than complaining about my woes? Do I include God in all my daily activities – walk with Him in the garden? We can be witnesses to God’s love and mercy until we draw our last breath.

Tags: end-of-life, pro-life, trust in God

1 Comment to Runways to God

1. 

   Oh! This is so beautiful, Barb! Every sentence spoke volumes!
Mary Nicewarner on May 28th, 2010