by John Fitzgerald
THIS WEEKEND WE find ourselves at what most people feel is the mid-point of Lent. The signpost is this Fourth Sunday in Lent, known as Laetere Sunday. Purple will be replaced with rose, and the entrance antiphon is from Isaiah: 10-11: “Rejoice, Jerusalem, and all who love her. Be joyful, all who were in mourning; exult and be satisfied at her consoling breast.”
This appears a strange chant for a period of penitence. To make matters worse, there seems to be an inconsistency between the antiphon and the responsorial psalm. The selected psalm is one that we most associate with the sadness of death and the ritual of a funeral. The words that stand out are: “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death.”
How does that follow a theme of joy?
I think we may find an answer in the relationships of God with His people. The history of God and the Israelites is a good example. God’s relationship with the Israelites was built on covenants. A covenant is an agreement used in the Old Testament to describe the relationship between God and His people. It establishes that God will not abandon the people even if they fail to live up to their side of the agreement. The early Israelites believed that breaking the promise would bring very negative consequences. In the end, they were assured that God loved His people.
I also think that by reading the psalm from our own individual perspectives we get a more personal answer as to where the joy may be found.
I think about my life and realize that I, like many other people, had times in my life when all was going well. The Lord was looking over me and I wanted for nothing, or in the words of the psalm:
“The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I lack.
In green pastures he makes me lie down;
to still waters he leads me;
he restores my soul.
He guides me along right paths
for the sake of his name.”
Valleys and Hills
Who would say that this is not life at its best? But all of sudden, life changes; we find that a love one has died, we are sick, our pension is gone, our neighbor has turned against us. We are on the rim of the valley of death. Our first response is to ask God: Why me? I have been faithful to our covenant. I have fasted; I have given alms to the poor; and most of all, I have prayed. Yet, You curse me.
The author of the psalm, who has been there, addresses our dilemma:
“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil, for you are with me;
your rod and your staff comfort me.
You set a table before me
in front of my enemies.”
That the Lord loves us is a given. What we forget is that even if we reject His love, He still loves us.
“My cup overflows.
Indeed, goodness and mercy will pursue me
all the days of my life;
I will dwell in the house of the Lord
for endless days.”
God will not empty an ocean to irrigate your fields; the healing miracles we seek when facing cancer will not come every time; poverty is with us always; and your good character might be ruined because of gossip that will not cease. Yet, God will be a steady force in all adversity.
In his book, “The Lord is My Shepherd: Healing Wisdom of the Twenty-third Psalm,” Rabbi Harold S. Kushner says it best:
“There will be dark days, days of loss and days of failure, but they will not last forever. The light will always return to chase away the darkness, the sun will always come out again after the rain, and the human spirit will always rise above failure. Fear will assault us, but we will not be afraid, for Thou art with me.”
Let us never forget God’s promise: I will be with you always even until the end of time.
John Fitzgerald is a parishioner of St. Joan of Arc, Jackson Heights. He was commissioned as a lay leader by the diocesan Pastoral Institute.