(from Magnificat Tuesday Aug. 19 Morning Prayer)
Dear friends, the world is a very heavy place right now. Our suffering brothers and sisters in Afghanistan, the people of Haiti, as well as family and friends getting sick and dying from covid…the list goes on. Feeling particularly heavy-hearted this morning opened my eyes to the beautiful prayers I read in my Magnificat morning prayer today. It was so perfect because as we know, the bible is timeless and always tells the story of a people suffering and searching for God. This page especially touched me:
The lament of Psalm 142 (pictured above), has the added footnote of: “Psalms such as this one are not reserved for those who are persecuted by visible enemies. They are given to us to pray whenever life’s troubles threaten to overwhelm us. If we are not suffering tribulations ourselves, we can pray in the name of all those who are burdened with problems that seem insuperable.”
I had to read that several times. While our brothers in Christ are suffering in ways we can’t even begin to comprehend, we can lament with and for them. We are all children of God, united in humanity through Him. We can pray the intense and timeless lament of Psalm 142 for them. We can read the words that surely describe what those fearing for their lives right now, are feeling. We can cry out to our God – our “Papa” – and mean every single word, for our family in Christ is suffering these things. If one is suffering, we are all suffering. This isn’t the same as centering on ourselves – it is literally us putting our shoulders to another’s cross and in a spiritual way, helping them carry it from wherever in the world we are. And this union and unity is the gift of our Faith.
Praying for our world, for those in tortured lament right now, fearing for themselves and for their children. And I’m praying for you, dear friends. Let’s never cease in praying for each other. Amen.
Love,
