Day 137: David Mourns Absalom

Psalm 38 As we have seen, illness is not necessarily the result of personal sin, but God may permit illness to prompt repentance, conversion, and, ultimately, personal holiness. The psalmist admitted that he deserved this discipline from the Lord. However, he was especially pained by the rejection of his friends on account of his infirmity, which was mistakenly attributed to sin. Wisely, the psalmist turned to the Lord, confessed his sins, and asked for deliverance. (CCC 1502)

(*The Didache Bible RSV-CE Ignatius Edition, 2006)



Prayer by Fr. Mike: “Father in Heaven we give you praise today and every day. Your mercies are new every morning and you speak to us with your fresh voice, your eternal voice, your voice that is the same yesterday, today, and forever because your Word, Lord God, your Word, Jesus Christ, is the same yesterday, today, and forever. And so we thank you and we give you praise today. Thank you for speaking to us words of knowledge, words of wisdom, words that even capture the penitence of our hearts, the sorrow of our hearts when we experience opposition, when we experience even internal failure. You give us in the Psalm 38 today, Lord God, you give us words of repentance, words that voice confidence in you when we need you the most and when we deserve you the least. And that’s when you give us your love. That’s when you give us your mercy. When we need it the most and deserve it the least. And so we give you praise and thank you in Jesus’ name. Amen.”