December 11/Second Wednesday of Advent
Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul, and do not forget all his benefits. ~ Psalm 103.1-2
“God bless you!” We say it automatically, to friend and stranger, rarely pausing to consider that we no longer entertain ancient beliefs about sneezes (such as that evil spirits enter the body in the vacuum caused by the sneeze). Superstition aside, we know what we mean, roughly, when we bless a sneezer. But what does it mean for us to bless the LORD, as today’s Psalm instructs? How can we, who have nothing, bless God, who has everything? We render to him the only thing we have: our whole-hearted gratitude for God’s blessings, which the Psalmist enumerates abundantly elsewhere in this exuberant poem. “Bless the LORD,” he sings, and again, “bless the LORD.” Being human himself, our Hebrew poet recognizes our tendency to forget God’s many “benefits,” as we let the daily anxieties of work and love clutch our hearts. On the good days it’s easy to give thanks for the small triumphs, the moments of true connection, the longed-for recognition of our hard work. But we don’t always have good days. And there are, too, real impediments to gratitude: the nagging health problem, the wounded relationship on the verge of rupture, the insatiable grief of losing someone we love. False positivity helps no one, but the person of faith understands that sorrows and difficulties have their place in our lives, and in our prayers. The Psalmist does not say that we should bless the LORD only with smiling faces and happy hearts; instead, he calls us to muster “all that is within us,” our innermost suffering as well as our joy, and turn it all into a song of connection to God.
LORD, Make me ever mindful of my many blessings and thankful for the greatest benefit of all: your love for me. Amen.
For today’s readings, click here: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/121124.cfm
To hear Stile Antico sing Thomas Tomkins’ “Praise the Lord, Oh My Soul,” click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0hbyuLOyM0
