By Alyssa Bormes
Lord, let your mercy be on us,
as we place our trust in you.
Psalm 33
The repetition of the Psalms can sometimes be just that – repetitious. However, this is not a fault with the Psalms, instead it’s with us. Perhaps we need new ears with which to hear, and a refreshed heart with which to pray.
Listen to the echo of the refrain, “Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.” At Mass today, this was uttered a total of five times; it’s a sort of stammering. We are speaking to God, and asking for something – mercy. Repeating it five times seems like a sort of begging. Of course, in a way, we are all beggars before God.
What better prayer is there for a time such as this? We beseech Him for mercy – we need mercy now! We give Him our trust. Had we taken our trust from Him? Or, do we just need to hear ourselves reiterate that we do in fact trust Him?
Today, beg Him, “Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.”
And then rest in knowing that it shall be so.
Alyssa: Last night at the close of a parish committee meeting, we prayed The Chaplet of The Divine Mercy with its fervent pleadings for mercy, “for the sake of His sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world”.
And then this morning I woke to your beautiful reflection on mercy and trust in Psalm 33.
In the special prayer Pope Francis wrote for the upcoming Jubilee Year of Mercy which begins December 8, 2015, he reminds us, “Lord Jesus Christ, You have taught us to be merciful like the heavenly Father…” and he implores our Lord Jesus Christ, “…You are the visible face of the invisible Father, of the God who manifests His power above all by forgiveness and mercy: let the Church be your visible face to the world, it’s Lord risen and glorified.” He concludes by asking for “…the intercession of Mary, Mother of Mercy…”.