This weekend’s readings take the previous weeks’ themes of mercy and forgiveness to the next step: God’s generosity. Through His mercy, forgiveness and kindness, He shows His boundless love for us. He will meet us each where we are, and guide us into His heavenly kingdom if we answer His call: “Let us go to the altar of God, the God of our goodness and joy! Let us enter the courts of the house of the Lord and sing to the glory of God.” (Let Us Go to the Altar of God, Dan Schutte, ©1997, Published by OCP.) At Communion, we sing of “the goodness of the Lord…for he has been so good to me.” Through partaking of the Body and Blood of Christ, we can “taste and see” our Lord – He becomes part of us, both physically and spiritually, each time we approach Him in the Holy Eucharist. The text for the second Communion song is worthy of reflection throughout our week as we strive to live out His commands:
O God, you search me and you know me.
All my thoughts lie open to your gaze.
When I walk or lie down, you are before me:
Ever the maker and keeper of my days.
You know my resting and my rising.
You discern my purpose from afar,
And with love everlasting you besiege me:
In every moment of life or death, you are.
Before a word is on my tongue, Lord,
You have known its meaning through and through.
You are with me beyond my understanding:
God of my present, my past and future, too.
Although your Spirit is upon me,
Still I search for shelter from your light.
There is nowhere on earth I can escape you:
Even the darkness is radiant in your sight.
For you created me and shaped me,
Gave me life within my mother’s womb.
For the wonder of who I am, I praise you:
Safe in your hands, all creation is made new.
“O God, You Search Me” Text based on Psalm 139. Text and music ©1992,
Bernadette Farrell. Published by OCP. All rights reserved.