Blessed the man who fears the LORD, who greatly delights in his commands. His posterity shall be mighty upon the earth; the upright generation shall be blessed.
R. Blessed the man who fears the Lord.
Wealth and riches shall be in his house; his generosity shall endure forever. Light shines through the darkness for the upright; he is gracious and merciful and just.
R. Blessed the man who fears the Lord.
Lavishly he gives to the poor; his generosity shall endure forever; his horn shall be exalted in glory.
R. Blessed the man who fears the Lord.
REFLECTION
Today’s readings are jam packed with nuggets of wisdom and encouragement. I like how well they go together. The Responsorial Psalm for today especially caught my attention because of how timely it is.
“Blessed the man who fears the Lord.”
When I read this, or rather prayed it since it was the response, my mind immediately went to Pentecost and the Holy Spirit. We recently celebrated Pentecost, which is one of my favorite celebrations because I love the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit completes things; for example, we become fully initiated Catholics at Confirmation when we are sealed with the Holy Spirit, and He is the third Person in the Holy Trinity. He moves things, creates action, goes where we can’t.
Fear of the Lord is a gift of the Holy Spirit. It is a loving reverence for the Lord. This is something we are all given upon being confirmed and something we can pray for and actively use on our journey of faith. How exciting to be gifted all of the tools necessary for growing in holiness and closeness with God. My understanding and my hope is that if I fear the Lord, I will learn to give, pray, and fast the way Jesus teaches in the Gospel. I will follow His teachings and commands with a “cheerful heart” as Paul puts it in the first reading.
I encourage you to take a moment today to reflect on how fearing the Lord has impacted your life, and invite a friend to do the same.
Thank you, Allison. Beautiful reflection!