March Meditation

From Psalm 102

Hear my prayer, O Lord;
   let my cry come to you.
Do not hide your face from me
   on the day of my distress.
Incline your ear to me;
   answer me speedily on the day when I call.
For my days pass away like smoke,
   and my bones burn like a furnace.
My heart is stricken and withered like grass;
   I am too wasted to eat my bread.
Because of my loud groaning
   my bones cling to my skin.
For I eat ashes like bread,
   and mingle tears with my drink,
because of your indignation and anger;
   for you have lifted me up and thrown me aside.
My days are like an evening shadow;
   I wither away like grass.
But you, O Lord, are enthroned for ever;
   your name endures to all generations.
You will rise up and have compassion. . .
He will regard the prayer of the destitute,
   and will not despise their prayer.
Let this be recorded for a generation to come,
   so that a people yet unborn may praise the Lord:
that he looked down from his holy height,
   from heaven the Lord looked at the earth,
to hear the groans of the prisoners,
   to set free those who were doomed to die.

Meditation: “Meaning and Happiness” by Ron Rolheiser

Even saints who suffered with depression had trouble praying and believing God cared about them or that they were any good. St. Gregory Nazianzus once wrote: The breath of my life, O Lord, seems spent. My body is tense, my mind filled with anxiety, yet I have no zest, no energy. Dark thoughts constantly invade my head. Lord, raise up my soul, revive my body. In the early 1800s, John Vianney, the Curé of Ars, was the pastor of a tiny village in France. Streams of pilgrims made their way to Ars for confession and advice. Despite his holiness, Vianney felt God to be so far from him that he was afraid he had lost his faith. Vianney feared he was ruining everything and had become an obstacle to God’s grace. There was not a moment when he felt that God was satisfied with him. When depression seemed to overpower him completely, he would throw himself down before God like a “dog at the feet of his master,” and weather the storm with a persevering resolution to love and serve God if he could.

What would help you to be more at peace with yourself right now? Are you self-critical? Ashamed? Angry with yourself? Frustrated? What would help you to be able to live each moment with a little bit of hope?

Song:  What Wondrous Love is This, performed by the St. Olaf Choir

What wondrous love is this, O my soul, O my soul,What wondrous love is this, O my soul?What wondrous love that caused the Lord of blissTo bear the dreadful curse for my soul, for my soulTo bear the dreadful curse for my soul?When I was sinking down, sinking down, sinking downWhen I was sinking down, sinking down,When I was sinking down beneath God’s righteous frownChrist laid aside his crown for my soul, for my soulChrist laid aside his crown for my soulTo God and to the Lamb I will sing, I will singTo God and to the Lamb I will singTo God and to the Lamb  who is the great I AMWhile millions join the theme I will sing, I will singWhile millions join the theme I will singAnd when from death I’m free I’ll sing on,And when from death I’m free I’ll sing onAnd when from death I’m freeI’ll sing his love for meAnd through eternity I will sing on, I’ll sing onAnd through eternity I’ll sing on.

Sacred Silence 

Scripture (1 John 1:1-5; 3:1)

We declare to you what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life – this life was revealed, and we have seen it and testify to it, and declare to you the eternal life that was with the Father and revealed to us – we declare to you what we have seen and heard so that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and his Son Jesus Christ. We are writing these things so that our joy may be complete. This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. . . See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God. And that is what we are.