from the William P. Gottlieb collection at the Library of Congress
March 24/Fifth Wednesday of Lent
“Praiseworthy and exalted above all forever.” ~ Daniel 3.53
Sometimes prayer flows easily from our hearts to God’s ears; other times, our throats are blocked by anxiety or doubt. In these moments when we are at a loss for words, we might consider reaching for the Bible, to let God pray through us and with us in the words of sacred scripture, even — and especially — when we just don’t “have it in us” to pray. “If you think your heart cannot pray, then pray with your mouth, kneel down, fold your hands, speak loudly,” advised the Jesuit theologian Karl Rahner in The Need and the Blessing of Prayer. Today’s happy-hearted song, drawn from a later Greek addition to Daniel, lends itself beautifully to “speaking loudly,” and embodies the orientation of human beings to God that is at the center of the Christian life. As we say the words aloud, we fall into the rhythmic refrain that governs these verses: “blessed are you, O God,” and then, “praiseworthy and exalted above all forever.” The repetition becomes incantatory, as the joy of God’s ineffable goodness is drummed into our fickle human hearts, and we experience a deep awareness of God’s glory. That refrain — fixed, trustworthy, reliable — points to the very nature of God as the fixed, trustworthy, reliable foundation for our lives. The 20th-century British mystic Evelyn Underhill described God as “the changeless and absolute Life, manifesting itself in all the myriad nascent, crescent, cadent lives.” We may experience many fluctuations and variations during our earthly sojourn, but if we anchor ourselves in the divine glory, as this joyous refrain invites us to do, we will come to know, deep in our hearts, that our lives truly begin and end through him, and with him, and in him.
God of wisdom and truth, As I journey through the busy and splintering world, may I stay grounded in my love of you. Amen.
For today’s readings, click here: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/032421.cfm
To hear the King’s Singers perform “Tibi laus, tibi gloria,” click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSBDJPXeOzw
