SHOOT THE PUCK! Sorry…but with hockey season right around the corner, I’m trying to get ready. Truth be told, I can’t stand those people that are always screaming that at games, but I must be honest: I’ve been that guy on more than one occasion. As I imagine all hockey fans have. When you think about it, it’s ludicrous. I can’t even ice skate; so what makes me think I know more about how to play hockey than the guys who do it professionally? Especially when they’re the guys that just won back-to-back Stanley Cups? It would be like Sidney Crosby sitting in the front pew at Mass, yelling “Consecrate that host!” (Part of me thinks that would actually be cool.)
Well, if it’s ridiculous at a hockey game, then is it ridiculous in prayer? In today’s responsorial psalm, we pray, “Remember your mercies, O God.” Did we really think that He forgot? Are we really going to tell God what to do? That’s not what the psalms intend, of course. Thus psalm, and others like it, was intended for a time of crisis, be it personal or communal. At a time when God doesn’t seem to be active in the world, this psalm would remind the one praying it of everything that God has done for them, and affirm their belief that God is indeed present in that moment of crisis.
God doesn’t need to remember His mercies. He knows them quite well. But we do. We need to remember everything He has done for us. We need to remember that He has never abandoned us. And we need to live like people who have been guided and taught in His ways.
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Just a programming note: I will be gone from October 4th to the 12th. Months ago, Fr. Will Wuenschel and I agreed to lead a pilgrimage to Rome for people from St. Benedict and Immaculate Conception parishes, since there was no chance we were going to be moving…and then we both got transferred. Please pray for us while we’re away; I will be praying for you all while I’m gone. I’ll only have limited access to email, so check with the Hardest Working Parish Staff in the Diocese if you need anything while I’m away. No promises, but I’ll try to update my blog periodically while I’m there, too.
Oremus pro invicem!
Venite prandete 