Inspired by Scholastica

  Psalms of Lament Benedictines pray the psalms every day in the Liturgy of the Hours.   When I was a young sister, I did not appreciate the psalms of lament. I had not experienced enough sorrow, enough pain, enough grief. I thought these psalms dwelt too much on darkness and feelings of abandonment.   Now that I am old, I understand better the psalms of lament.   They provide words when the loss is so overwhelming we cannot find our own words. Those who undergo the horrors of war and brutality must feel utter despair, that there is no way to escape the pit of pain, terror, and devastation. Psalm 69 gives voice to those feelings: Save me, o God, for the waters threaten my life, I am sunk in the abysmal swamp where there is no foothold I have reached the watery depths; the flood overwhelms me. (New American Bible)   Those who have lost a child, often feel like their very heart has been wrenched from their bodies. They know the sorrow of Rachel weeping...

  Richard Rohr once used the story of Jonah to speak about God’s mercy. He said that when Jonah preached repentance to the Ninevites, they repented by putting on sackcloth and ashes so God did not destroy them. But Jonah became angry at God. He thought God should have punished the Ninevites because they had done terrible things. One translation of Jonah says, “Don’t you know me, Jonah, that I’m mercy within mercy within mercy?” Jesus too was sent to preach repentance to the Jewish people, yet they crucified him. Still God forgave those who killed Jesus and did not destroy them. God does not bear grudges. He is a God of mercy. We, too, have a hard time understanding the mercy of God. We want people to pay for their sins, their wrongdoings. Even if they repent, we still think they should be punished in some way before they are forgiven. We can’t seem to fully comprehend the abundant mercy of God. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel, The Scarlet Letter , is a noteworthy example of how...

  “Prayer is taking a chance that against all odds and past history, we are loved and chosen, and do not have to get it together before we show up.”  Anne Lamont I stopped and reread that sentence when it appeared on my screen. It seemed so real and true, yet it was something I don’t always think of. Even when we are scattered and ashamed and broken, God loves and chooses us. Such a comforting realization. I wonder how many people in prison for a terrible crime, or who have done a shameful deed, or who have yelled at God for letting their child die or allowing them to have a deadly disease, or who have endured other awful experiences believe that they are still loved by God. I wonder how Judas felt after betraying Jesus. He did try to give back the 30 pieces of silver, but he still hanged himself. He could not undo his terrible deed, but if we believe in a loving God, we know that God forgave him. Each one of us is loved by God, who like a doting mother, loves us not a...