March 28/Wednesday of Holy Week
Insult has broken my heart, and I am weak, I looked for sympathy, but there was none; for consolers, not one could I find.
I will praise the name of God in song, and I will glorify him with thanksgiving. ~ Ps 69.21, 31
And then there are the dark days, when our lives seem circumscribed by isolation and rejection. We lose our job and no one lends a hand to help us find another one. We go through divorce or illness and our friends fail to give us the support we need. A project or program we are overseeing is unsuccessful and our colleagues shun us. We stand up for our faith and are ostracized. The nineteenth-century British Jesuit and poet, Gerard Manley Hopkins, was an eloquent witness to the despair and loneliness that can afflict humankind. His “terrible sonnets” give voice to the depths of human grief and anguish. “No worst, there is none. Pitched past pitch of grief,/ More pangs will, schooled at forepangs, wilder wring./ Comforter, where, where is your comforting?” he cries. Perhaps we may find in today’s verses the comfort that Hopkins sought. Like his Victorian counterpart, our psalmist is riven by isolation and heartbreak. His plight foreshadows the plight of Christ shamed and abandoned on the cross, deserted by his most loyal followers, mocked by the authorities, taunted by the citizens. By surrendering our pangs and forepangs to the wide and merciful embrace of God, we may find solace, as the voicing of our heartbreak leads us to a place of trusting confidence. Here, suddenly, the psalmist converts his searing lament into a full-throated expression of praise. The journey towards freedom often originates in complaint. As we lament our pitiable plight to our Lord, we begin to believe that he is unchanging, that his love is unwavering, and that he is with us, comforting us, even at our darkest moments.
Compassionate God, Assuage my grief, ease my pain, and comfort me in my times of sadness. Amen.
For today’s readings, click here: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/032818.cfm
To hear “Abide With Me,” click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deJDkU6qiGE
